Welcome Sand to Snow national Monument! The Tortoise Reader Photo
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pring has sprung, the tortoises are out of their cozy burrows, doing their elaborate mating dances (they like to slow dance), and this year, they have one more reason to celebrate—a new national monument! The Sand to Snow National Monument ties together the low (Sonoran or Colorado) desert, with the alpine mountain enviArch MCCulloch submitted his photo of Mt. San Jacinto ronment of the San Bernardino Mountains, taken from Arch’s home in Morongo Valley, our hi-desert and the hi-desert (Mojave), helping preserve community that woke up recently to find itself surrounded the connections between these ecosystems by one of America’s newest national monuments! Thanks at a time when they seem to frequently be Arch! under assault (anyone remember Green Path North?). Incorporating existing preserves—Big Morongo tors will follow the Sand to Snow National Monument as Canyon Preserve (BLM), and The Wildlands Conservancy’s they turn north up Route 62, and will essentially follow Whitewater, Mission Creek, and Pioneertown Mountains a national monument or park boundary until they reach preserves, the new national monument, its desert, mounHighway 177 at the eastern end of Joshua Tree National tains, rivers, forests, and more, make it the most botaniPark. If visitors head north from Twentynine Palms to Amcally rich national monument in the country. You can fish, boy and Route 66, they’ll find yet another new national hike (including 25 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail), mounmonument, Mojave Trails, which helps connect them tain climb, rock climb, bird watch, snow-shoe, hunt, and northbound to the Mojave National Preserve, which enyes, drive and ride, around Sand to Snow. compasses yet a third new national monument, Castle There are historical, mining, and Native American Mountains. cultural sites within the monument, and overall, uses of A plethora of local and regional folks and orgathe public lands should not change dramatically with the nizations have all gone on record supporting the new new designation. national monuments, and our sister publication, The Sun Now, the national monument/park experience Runner, endorsed the legislation creating them when it for our two million or so annual visitors to Joshua Tree was initially introduced. We’ll get into the funding and National Park, begins in the Banning Pass area, and visimanagement of the monuments in the next Sun Runner.
In this issue: The tortoise welcomes our brand new sand to snow national monument!
Death Valley Jim introduces us to the man from the cave: chuckwalla bill
also... hi-desert happenings and our new hi-desert living page
Musician Victoria Williams gets a laugh at the Beauty Bubble from stylist Emily Hunter. Joshua Tree community activist, bobcat advocate, astronomer, and pretty funny guy, Tom O’Key, speaks at a recent public forum on the new national monuments hosted by senator dianne feinstein. watch out! tom’s enthusiasm is highly contagious!
Stay in touch with the Tortoise! www.jttortoisetelegraph.com
Helping out in the hi-desert the victoria williams fund We all love victoria williams, one of the hi-desert’s most beloved singers and songwriters. In mid-december, 2015, vic had a seizure, fractured her shoulder and seriously injured her back. Her medical insurance isn’t covering her costs and she isn’t able to work while she recovers. please donate if you can at: sweetrelief.org/program/victoria-williams-fund. 1