The Nature Conservancy Lends Support to Governor Schwarzenegger’s Desert Protection Plan

Governor Commends Joint Planning as Key to Protecting California’s Lands and Waters while Implementing Renewable Energy

Sacramento, California — November 17, 2008 — The Nature Conservancy today added its support to Governor Schwarzenegger’s Renewable Energy Project and Desert Energy Conservation Plan, which will mandate the implementation of renewable energy technologies — with the least environmental impact — in the Mojave and Colorado Desert regions within two years.

“The Nature Conservancy appreciates Governor Schwarzenegger’s comprehensive response to the critical need for renewable energy. On a global environmental scale, there is nothing more important than a shift away from fossil fuels,” said Rebecca Shaw, associate state director for The Nature Conservancy in California.

“We particularly value the administration’s recognition that renewable energy technologies, if not properly planned and sited, could have a disastrous impact on California’s exceedingly fragile deserts, and we look forward to working with the governor’s staff during this process,” Shaw said. “We have to do this quickly, but we have to do this right.”

The executive order signed by the governor today, along with the memorandum of understanding signed by multiple state agencies, require stakeholders to engage in a Natural Community Conservation Planning (NCCP) process for the Mojave and Colorado Desert regions, a cooperative effort designed to protect species and their habitats while allowing for compatible and appropriate economic or development activity. According to Shaw, “Californians rely on the deserts to meet many needs, such as recreation, agriculture, military testing and training. We must work together to meet this challenge.”

More than 25 years ago, The Nature Conservancy launched the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, one of the first landscape-scale NCCPs implemented in California. Since then, the Conservancy has helped protect a number of desert landscapes, including the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve in San Bernardino County and the Dos Palmas Preserve in Riverside County.

“In our urgency to create a more sustainable future, we must be careful not to destroy the very environments that we’re trying to protect,” continued Shaw. “The Nature Conservancy has extensive experience with the NCCP process, and it is indeed the best approach to reconcile and balance our energy goals in an environmentally sensitive way.”

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.