Resources - Morongo Basin
Morongo Basin Open Space Group - Read more about MBOSG's work
Go to the MBOSG website or
Download the summary sheet (pdf)
Interactive Conservation Value Priorities Map View the conservation value priorities identified for individual parcels in the Moronogo Basin.
Newspaper and Newsletter articles:
Hi-Desert Star Newspaper - May 2011 (pdf)
Hi-Desert Star Newspaper - April 2009 (pdf)
Hi-Desert Star Newspaper - October 2008 (pdf)
Sonoran Institute WestWord Newsletter Summer 2008 (pdf)
Mojave Desert Land Trust Newsletter Summer 2008 (pdf)
Go to Mojave Desert Land Trust Website to find more newsletters
Donate
Kathy Borgen champions causes that help protect, care for, and nurture a love of our planet. She is also passionate about the work of the Institute
Where We Work Westwide - Training & Leadership Morongo Basin
Morongo Basin Regional Conservation and Land Use Planning Project
The Morongo Basin is a fragile and diverse ecosystem of Joshua tree forests, ancient plants, unique wildlife, mountains and dry lake beds in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. While development pressures differ in scale from other areas of the state, uncoordinated development patterns are impacting the treasured landscapes, open spaces and vistas that residents value and visitors come to enjoy.
The Sonoran Institute works in this area as a member of the Morongo Basin Open Space Group (MBOSG) to protect natural landscapes and open space through regional conservation and land use planning. Since 2006 regional governmental agencies, development interests, and environmental and conservation groups have been working collaboratively to identify critical priority conservation areas and work with local entities to build a robust local economy that respects our desert landscapes and provides for “Basin-Wise” growth.
The MBOSG’s focus area in the high desert region of San Bernardino County is defined by the Morongo Unified School District boundary, an area of approximately 1,400 square miles that is home to 75,000 residents, including those living and working on the local U.S. Marine Corp base. Major public land owners include the Department of Defense, the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service. Private lands comprise approximately 27% of the area and are interspersed throughout, many parcels in checkerboard patterns with BLM lands, reflecting government homesteading programs of the early 20th century.
The Sonoran Institute’s Training and Community Leadership Program contributes to the MBOSG’s goals through:
- Community engagement, education and outreach through public meetings, public workshops, and speaking engagements
- Joint facilitation of regional research projects, including the South Coast Wildlands report “A Linkage Design for the Joshua Tree —Twentynine Palms Connection”
- Applications for grants and program support
Morongo Basin Wildlife Overlay Workshop - Developing a Model Ordinance
Friday November 18, 2011
Bell Center Community Room, Copper Mountain College
6162 Rotary Way, Joshua Tree
News & Updates
October 29th, 2011 - Looking at future, planners ask, 'What if?'
The Morongo Basin Open Space Group is considering alternative futures.
Community leaders representing Joshua Tree National Park, the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps base, San Bernardino County, Yucca Valley and Joshua Basin Water District met in the Yucca Valley Community Center Oct. 18 to discuss various growth scenarios.
The meeting's facilitator is Stephanie Weigel, a regional land use planner. Using a series of maps and satellite images of the Basin, Weigel talks the group through a series of "what if" scenarios depicting the ramifications of different kinds of growth. Read the full article here.
Morongo Basin Open Space Group Partners
Basin Wide Foundation
Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency
Building Industry Association, Morongo Basin Chapter
Bureau of Land Management, Barstow Field Office
California Department of Fish and Game
City of Twentynine Palms
Copper Mountain College
Hi-Desert Water District
Joshua Basin Water District
Joshua Tree Municipal Advisory Council
Mojave Desert Land Trust
Morongo Basin Conservation Association
Morongo Basin Property Association
Morongo Valley Community Services District
National Park Service, Joshua Tree National Park
National Parks Conservation Association
San Bernardino County
Sonoran Institute
The Wildlands Conservancy
Town of Yucca Valley
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center
Morongo Basin Wildlife Overlay Workshop - Developing a Model Ordinance
This workshop builds on the regional conservation planning work that the Morongo Basin Open Space Group has been engaged in, focusing on the connectivity for people and wildlife planning goal. The workshop will provide a venue for biologists and planners to work together to design a desert-appropriate approach to how development occurs in wildlife areas.
A model ordinance is a draft that a city, county or town can use as a starting point for refining its own local code. We plan to bring biologists and planners to the table to help in drafting this model ordinance, so that the resulting code will be both grounded in science and crafted to enable effective implementation.
Friday November 18, 2011 - 9AM to 4PM
Bell Center - Copper Mountain College
6162 Rotary Way
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
Download maps and directions
Thank you to: Copper Mountain College for providing the meeting space and staff support; Patagonia Foundation for providing funding for research on existing wildlife protection plans and codes.
WORKSHOP MATERIALS
Workshop Summary - Eight page summary of workshop discussions Download (705.82 kB)
Presentation - Introduction and general guide to workshop goals and activities Download (1.6 MB)
Workshop Handouts
Agenda Download (63.02 kB)
Draft outline of "strawman ordinance" Download (71.57 kB)
Development impacts matrix worksheet Download (67.41 kB)
Linkage design species list Download (993.87 kB)
Morongo Basin species habitat needs list Download (203.47 kB)
Example ordinance standards Download (1.72 MB)
RESOURCES
Links
Planning for People and Wildlife - Summary of June 2011 workshop jointly sponsored by Sonoran Institute and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Links to presentations and other resources.
Scottie - Successful Communities Online ToolKit - A web resource developed by Western Lands and Communities (a joint venture of Sonoran Institute and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy) to provide communities access to a variety of model plans and policies already in place and working from rural, amenity, and urban communities across the West. Select the categories "Cultural and Natural Resource Assets" and "Wildlife Habitat and Coordior Protection" for relevant wildlife planning resources.
Downloads
Example Wildlife Ordinances Summary of example ordinances that are wildlife friendly. Reviewed and summarized by Kina Murphy
Summary Tables discussing the relationships between regulatory land use controls and wildlife and habitat protection
Wildlife and Habitat Protection Ordinance Summaries examples of different ordinances from the United States that aim to protect wildlife, habitat, and natural areas
Planing for People and Wildlife - A Workbook for Montana's Citizens and Local Officials
Sonoran Institute - 2009
Wildlife Friendly Guidelines - Community and Project Planning
Arizona Game and Fish Department, 2009
Conservation Thresholds For Land Use Planners
Environmental Law Institute, 2003
Lasting Landscapes: Reflections on the Role of Conservation Science in Land Use Planning
Environmental Law Institute, 2007
Defenders of Wildlife, 2007
Effects of Exurban Development on Wildlife and Plant Communities
Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA, 2007
1000 Friends of Florida