Urgent!Palm Springs trails / Skyline threatened by land swap

[guest]

GOOD NEWS! We won a skirmish!

• The City of Palm Springs sent the attached letter to the BLM requesting that the land exchange provide free and unfettered access to trails and if that is not possible, the City requests excluding Sections 36 and 16 from the exchange.

• Thank you Ken!!
He said "This letter represents confirmation by the City itself that the exchange as proposed falls short of providing a net public benefit. This was not an easy position for the City to take and that makes it even more significant. It is an important official objection to the exchange. It is a good letter, one that helps."
And - An anonymous hiker quipped, "Today the word heard in the halls of the BLM is, "The City caved to those darned hikers!"

LAST CHANCE NEWS! ...... Procrastinators' Alert! Today is Nov. 19, the last day to send in your comments opposing the land exchange. To make it easier for you to comment - or recomment - here are some easy tools! WE NEED MORE COMMENTS!

(Thanks to Pat for suggesting these short messages that you can copy & paste into the contacts below - some are websites and some are email addresses. This is so easy to do even I can do it!!! )

• For BLM office: I oppose the land exchange between the BLM and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians within the San Jacinto/San Jacinto National Monument (CACA 42965 2200 (CA-066.62). Unequal amounts of land of unequal value are to be exchanged, whereby the public receives much less than it gives away. This is not in the public interest. We need a more equitable proposal.
• For the Politicians add: Please use your influence to send the proposal back to the drawing board to find a more equitable solution to the "checkerboard" issue within the monument.
CONTACTS

• John_Kalish@blm.gov Re: CACA-42965 2200 (CA-066.62)

• Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack https://bono.house.gov/Contact_Mary/ContactForm.htm Re: CACA-42965 2200 (CA-066.62)

• http://www.facebook.com/mary.b.mack

• kensalazar@ios.doi.gov. Re: CACA-42965 2200 (CA-066.62)

• http://boxer.senate.gov/en/contact/policycomments.cfm Re: CACA-42965 2200 (CA-066.62)

• http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/inde ... Us.EmailMe

• rick.green@thedesertsun.com

• http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/s ... feedback02
Thanks!
If you've received duplicates of this email, let me know....also, if you do not wish to receive these emails.

Robin
Secretary, Coachella Valley Hiking Club

[zippetydude]

Thanks Scott. I wrote them just now, I hadn't realized the time was running out so quickly.

z

[trcar]

Thanks to the community for bringing this forward. I have also written to oppose the swap. Keep on hiking!

[cynthia23]

Respectfully I would disagree that the PS city council letter is a victory for us. It's 'better than nothing" of course, but I don't agree that if the tribe would just promise to give hikers continuing access, the BLM should go ahead and give them 36 and 16. I agree with the general idea of historical reparations: the tribe should get back some of their ancient tribal holdings, especially areas with a strong cultural significance to them. But 36 and 16 were added, later on, to the deal. This deal is really wrong because it is the BLM transferring HUGE amounts of land wealth into the hands of a few hundred private indivuals who are already very wealthy (it would be different if this tribe were poor or numerous. They're neither.) When Palm Springs schools can't pay for school busses, kindergarten aides, or new textbooks, why is a government agency transferring a Mexican-drug-cartel-size pile of funds into the pockets of a few hundred wealthy people?? There are real issues of financial impropriety and corrupt governance here. The Palm Springs City Council should be calling for an audit, independent appraisers, and an investigation--not just meekly saying "Oh well, so long as we get to keep hiking on it, okay, I guess...."

Part of what makes this conversation difficult is that no one wants to come off like a racist jerk. There's no question that the Native Americans were occupied, stolen from, and genocidally massacred; they deserve reparations. However, that has to be balanced with reason and good governance requires considering all citizens. This tribe is very small and very rich, and they have made huge amounts of money off gaming, a detestable business that feeds off the poor and desperate and causes tremendous harm to families. They also make money by treating their service workers like crap, and they bust every union that tries to organize their workers. The amount of money they give to the cities of the CV is negligible compared to how much they drain out for city services and all the social harm their loathsome trade causes (and remember, they don't have to pay the same amount of taxes as you and me.) So: in conclusion--I can't see ONE DAMN REASON the public should give them 200+million and our best hiking trails. Call me crazy!

[samlauncher]

Appreciate the info, it’s good to know.

[Blue]

This has been one of the best sites for information on the proposed land swap. I know that most of us have made calls, written letters, etc., and I'm glad for that, I sure hope it makes a difference.

But every time I hike Henderson or other trails in the Bogert Trail Complex, I can't help but wonder what next? Comment period may be over but I'm guessing we can still be writing letters to congress people, Interior Secretary, etc. If enough of us signed a joint letter to MBM, BB and DF asking them to formally look into the appropriateness and public good of the proposed swap could that help?

It seems that interest here and updates at the Coachella Valley Hiking Club http://www.cvhikingclub.net/Information%20for%20Land%20Exchange%20Problem.html pretty much ended when the comment period did on 11/20/10. Likewise the media is silent on it now. I personally didn't get any response from my letters, except MBM saying basically "yes, it's an important issue and it's wonderful you have an opinion," without of course telling me hers.

Now that we're through the holiday season, what can we do now? Can we get Friends of the Desert Mountains to state their position? (I called them during the comment period to ask what their position was and was told they had none, but the "board is talking about it.")

Anyone with any ideas or scoop?

Thanks all,
Oco Blue

[magikwalt]

This is appears to be pretty straight forward. Either the local BLM is in love with the Tribe for whatever reason or has lost his sense of negoiating for the best deal for the property owners (citizens of the USA). Either way the fastest way to kill this is to get political support.

Write politicians and ask why BLM bureaucrats are giving away land assets? No elected official likes a bureaucrat and they love to take a shot when they get the chance. Write and call their local office. Make it an issue. Mary Bono Mack is already onboard. Where are Pelosi, Fienstien and Boxer?

These four can kill this with a simple inquiry. Forget about the local council and mayor. Remember that this tribe was connected with the Abramoff-Reed Indian Gambling Scandal. They wanted power and influence but complained loudly when it turned out they were played.

[cynthia23]

Sorry not to post about this in so long. I have gone to some meetings with the Desert Trail Coalition. Basically, we think the best person to write now is Senator Diane Feinstein, as she is specificallly interested in tribal issues. We are trying to get a meeting with her. We have also been talking about setting up a webpage specifically to cover this issue. And, we are also talking about doing some public protests of a theatrical nature.

Some of you may have noticed that the BLM signs have 'mysteriously' been taken down from Skyline and the Ramon trail, and new "Monument" signs put up. It seems the BLM is making a point to distance themselves from this trail--already.

MagikWalt, we are looking into the Abramahoff connection. We actually have reason to think this deal may have originated in that era.

One thing we have learned is that the tribe did NOT ask for Parcel 16 (Skyline); the BLM specifically added it to the deal. So THEY are the ones who want to get rid of it.

I will post more later.

[guest]

Hi Cynthia,

Thanks for staying on top of this and keeping us informed, sounds like some interesting details are unraveling.

ss

[KathyW]

It would be interesting to see the appraised values of the land included in the trade. I saw this listing for some mountainous land in the Santa Rosas - not too much value if you can't develop the land:

http://www.desertareacie.com/files/property/2950000/2950280/4056196_80_ac_E_Palm_Canyon_Santa_Rosa_Mt.pdf