The fledgling national Route 66 Alliance is proposing making a national monument out of an area of Mojave Desert in Southern California to protect 70 miles of Route 66, reports the Press-Enterprise.
According to the newspaper, the proposal would:
— Designate “Mother Road National Monument,” which could be twice as big as Joshua Tree National Park.
— Preserve an off-road vehicle area southeast of Barstow that has been threatened by expansion of a military training base.
— Protect more than a half-million acres of scattered desert land donated to the federal government as open space but now subject to energy development.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., signaled this week through an aide that she will craft legislation to protect the donated property.[…]
The Wildlands Conservancy, based in Oak Glen, raised about $45 million to buy Mojave Desert land from the Catellus Development Corp., a former arm of the Santa Fe Railway. […]
Feinstein has not endorsed the Mother Road National Monument concept and other specific provisions sought by The Wildlands Conservancy, Sierra Club California/Nevada Desert Committee and Route 66 preservationists, said Feinstein spokeswoman Laura Wilkinson.
However, the senator plans to ensure the former Catellus land is protected, Wilkinson said.
I don’t think that Conkle and many Route 66ers are against solar-energy development in the desert, although a number of residents in the region are.
However, a proposal to expand Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center would cut off access to miles of Route 66, which clearly would be vehemently opposed by Mother Roaders. The expansion would swallow up Amboy, Calif., home to Roy’s, a longtime Route 66 business that’s being resurrected.
Incidentally, Conkle served in the Marines. So his stance on this issue should never be construed as being anti-military.
There’s been talk for years about eventually designating a Route 66 National Park on all 2,200 miles of so of the Mother Road. Advocates of that idea undoubtedly will be watching developments with this Mojave Desert proposal; it may provide a springboard to the national park idea.
UPDATE 3/24/09: Here’s a new story about the issue from the Los Angeles Times.
Ron,
You know be better then most folks and your correct that we do NOT oppose solar and wind farms or the Marines needs to expand their base. It is our hope that by all of us working together, with no stake holder being left out, that we can all achieve our goals.
The Solar and Wind industries, the utility agencies and the Marines need to sit down with all of us. Being ramrodded, ignored or having NO open lines of communication is not the way to get this done.
Plus we are not re-acting here as we have been talking about doing this for a number of years, it is now being fast-tracked with all these added issues.
After looking at a map of the proposed monument it is obvious that is all about stopping energy companys from building. Why are there sections along the river south of Needles? The map I saw showed sections along Route 66 that were two miles wide! Might there be other motives behind this?