Hello! Hunting organizations, sign up!

© 2010 Joshua Stark

To elaborate on a passing reference I made two blogs earlier, the biggest threat to Southern California's wild lands is development, and more specifically, the development of solar thermal facilities and their subsequent energy corridors.
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In this light, Senator Feinstein has authored a bill, the California Desert Protection Act of 2010, that would set aside more land for protection. You can read a good summary of the bill here at the Senator's website.

Now, the NRA-ILA is fighting hard to maintain hunting in Mojave National Preserve, but where are they in supporting this issue? The reason I ask is because, like the Ca. Desert Protection Act of 1994, it specifically supports hunting as an activity in much of the lands it is attempting to protect.

At the very least, let's see some hunting groups signing on, because I know full-well that the NRA isn't a hunting organization.

Here's a list of supporters:

• The California Wilderness Coalition
• The Wildlands Conservancy
• The Wilderness Society
• The National Parks Conservation Association
• Friends of the River
• Campaign for America's Wilderness
• Cogentrix Energy
• Edison International (parent company of Southern California Edison)
• Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve
• Friends of the Desert Mountains
• Mojave Desert Land Trust
• Desert Protective Council
• Amargosa Conservancy
• Death Valley Conservancy
• Cities of Barstow, Desert Hot Springs, Hesperia, Indio, Palm Springs, San Bernardino and Yucaipa
• Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley
• San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry
• Imperial County Supervisor Wally Leimgruber
• Coachella Valley Association of Governments
• SummerTree Institute
• Route 66 Preservation Foundation

Show me one hunting group there...

This bill also straddles the constituent fence, as it were, by both adding wilderness land and including space for OHV use. Neither side in that battle will probably be happy in public, but the long-term effects of having the federal legislation specifically refer to both of them will help both groups.

Come on, hunters, this is something to support!

Special thanks to Defenders of Wildlife for bringing this to my attention.