Your view: More about desert solar projects

Dear editor,

In response to Matthew Klink’s letter to the editor, I offer an opposing view. In the Morongo Basin, national park visitors add critical tax revenue to our communities, create local jobs by supporting local business, and raise national awareness about the value of our Mojave desert.

This benefit is renewable, meaning that if we care for our national parks we will continuously benefit from them. This is an ideal business model, where the source of income is protected in perpetuity and so is the benefit of those surrounding it.

Furthermore, I disagree that the desert is worthless. The Mojave draws visitors from across the world to visit its desert mountains, Joshua tree forests and wildlife.

Many of these people are visiting here because the natural environment where they live has already been ruined. Protection of our natural, cultural, and historic places here in the Mojave tells part of America’s story and it is a story worth protecting.

Solar development presents a great opportunity for economic benefit in the desert. But these projects can be placed on already disturbed lands, not in pristine areas. Through the California Desert Protection Act of 2010, we can both bring solar energy projects closer to our communities, creating needed jobs and protecting local gems that will bring tourism dollars to our area.