Bakersfield Rally to Support Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan

Public lands lovers, business owners, scientists and environmental activists will rally Tuesday afternoon before a public Bureau of Land Management meeting in Bakersfield to demand that the Trump administration keep the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan in place.

The DRECP is the product of eight years of planning, hundreds of public workshops and tens of thousands of public comments. Implementation has just begun, but the Trump administration announced last month that it is re-opening the plan to comment and revision.

“We have a chance to make history and rebuff this attempt to undermine this scientifically based plan that took years to craft through a wholly transparent public process,” said Sarah Friedman of the Sierra Club.

“This plan protects threatened plants, animals and fragile desert landscapes while allowing for responsible clean energy development,” said Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s dumbfounding that the Trump administration is willing to destroy this successful collaboration. It’s bad for business and the environment.”

What: “Let the Plan Stand” Rally to support the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP)

When: Tuesday, March 6. Rally starts at 4:30 p.m. Rally participants will then attend the BLM meeting, which begins at 5 p.m.

Where: Bakersfield BLM Field Office, 3801 Pegasus Drive, Bakersfield, CA, 93308

Media availability: Supporters of the DRECP, including those who worked on the plan, will be available for interviews at the rally.

Background

State and federal agencies began work on the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan in 2008 to help California meet its clean energy goals while also protecting three dozen plants, mammals, fish, birds and reptiles, including desert tortoises, Mojave fringe-toed lizards and golden eagles.

Because of the DRECP, renewable energy is being developed with less environmental impact, while conservation measures protect iconic desert landscapes and threatened species that are easily damaged and slow to heal. The DRECP’s robust public-planning process resulted in a plan that was supported by a wide variety of stakeholders.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.6 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2018/desert-renewable-energy-conservation-plan-03-05-2018.php