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Sen. Dianne Feinstein is developing new legislation to protect two major new national monuments in the California desert, in addition to several new wilderness areas and wild-and-scenic rivers. The bill has not even been introduced yet, but as a result of early media, Feinstein is getting pressure to reduce the size of the land protections, partially because of a concern that the bill could hamper meeting renewable-energy goals for California.

The Sierra Club supports renewable energy and desert protection. We believe that the proposed monuments and wilderness are compatible with renewable-energy goals, including a reasonable amount of carefully sited large-scale solar projects on public and private lands in the desert and elsewhere. This is not based just upon wishful thinking, but on careful analysis of how much renewable energy we need in California, what portion would come from large-scale solar development, and how much land that would entail.

WhatYouCanDo - This month's key action

Contact Sen. Dianne Feinstein through her website or (415) 393-0707. Encourage her not to reduce the size of land protections in her bill. These places are not the right places for large-scale utility development - other places are more suitable and will be available to provide significant increases in our renewable energy sources. These national monuments and wilderness areas will be a key legacy for future generations.

Barbara Boyle, Sierra Club field staff