Route 66

The photo below shows desert wildflowers in bloom along Route 66 in California's Mojave Desert. This area would be preserved under the California Desert Protection Act of 2011, which Senator Feinstein introduced last year but is still in limbo in Washington DC. The Obama administration expressed its support for the conservation plan outlined in the Act. 


The historical Route 66 passes through much of the proposed Mojave Trails National Monument, one of two monument proposals contained in the California Desert Protection Act of 2011 (S.138).  There are many sites of cultural and historical significance along Route 66, surrounded by beautiful desert landscapes. Climate change, proposed utility scale wind and solar energy projects, and a myriad of other human impacts threaten to destroy the intact ecosystem here that greets visitors and conveys a sense of boundless liberty. If you visit, take your time to watch the graceful raptors soaring above or reptiles darting between creosote bushes, and spend a night camping to wake up in the morning and hear a coyote call or see the quail browsing for food in the cool hours of the day.



Comments

  1. Desert DwellerMay 18, 2012 at 12:47 PM

    I hear you...Rt 66 in NM is just 100 yards N of me house. Abq is lucky to have some preserved open space and wilderness right nearby, including many of that same Baileya multiradiata wildflower. Especially lucky, since the same city has destroyed much of that flora and never tried to restore it. Preservation of such places is better than nothing at all.

    ReplyDelete
  2. pwaxMay 23, 2012 at 1:39 PM

    You take lovely pictures.

    ReplyDelete

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