The Settler Sea: California’s Salton Sea and the Consequences of Colonialism

By Tracy Brynne Voyles, University of Nebraska Press, 2022 Review by Ruth Nolan Feb 14, 2023 Salton Sea Rally banner, Oct 12, 2022. Photo: Ruth Nolan In an important and aesthetically intoxicating book, The Settler Sea: California's Salton Sea and the Consequences of Colonialism, author Tracy Brynne Voyles wastes no time digging into the major … Continue reading The Settler Sea: California’s Salton Sea and the Consequences of Colonialism

A New Model for Public Lands

Tribal Collaborative Management at Bears Ears National Monument by Ruben Pacheco The Bears Ears National Monument (BENM) remains one of the most cherished landscapes in North America. The entire Bears Ears region contains spectacular paleontological remnants, palatial geological formations, biodiverse and breathtaking plant and animal life, world-class recreation opportunities, and archeological evidence of tens of … Continue reading A New Model for Public Lands

The Desert Tortoise in California

A General Conservation Plan by Ray Bransfield The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) listed the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (Act) in 1990 due to habitat loss and fragmentation, excessive predation, and disease. Since then, the Service has been working to protect desert tortoises and their habitat and to recovering the … Continue reading The Desert Tortoise in California

Can the Jacumba Wilderness Be Saved?

Conflicting Priorities on the Mexican Border by Craig Deutsche On February 8, 2019, environmental laws, regulations, and other legal requirements were waived in order to construct barriers and roads to "secure" the Mexican border.1 Approximately a year later (March, 2020 construction of the border wall was initiated in Southern California's Jacumba Wilderness. The environmental damage … Continue reading Can the Jacumba Wilderness Be Saved?