upgrade Death Valley and Joshua
Tree national monuments into national parks and create a third park in the East
Mojave. Another 4 million federal acres outside the boundaries of the parks
also would be declared WILDERNESS.To untangle the desert from its web of ownership interests, today's Congress must undo the work of its predecessors more than a century ago. To help build schools in a 3-year old California, Congress in 1853 donated one-eighth of all the state's public lands in plots evenly distributed throughout California, including the desert. To help fund the construction of a transcontinental railroad to California, Congress deeded alternate mile square sections along the right-of-way.
Today the State Teachers Retirement System still owns about 500,000 acres, The Public Employees Retirement System controls 935,000 acres as the largest stockholder in Catellus Development Corp, the real estate arm of the Santa Fe Railroad.
The plan is first to make federal swaps for 355,000 acres of Catellus' land and 270,000 acres of teachers' land. If that doesn't work, Callellus and the teachers can bid for businesses, apartments and other buildings for sale by the Resolution Trust Corp - the federal agency created in 1989 to operate and dispose of properties held by the nation's thrift and banks that failed.
To proponents, untangling the mix of public and private desert makes sense and would not be a giveaway. Catellus is not acting publicly like an anxious trader. "We are very content keeping ownership of the lands. . . . If the federal government feels certain lands should be protected for future generations, we have no problem as long as we are given compensation."
At the present, these desert lands are making no money. If traded for lands that produce annual revenues, that money will help the pensions keep up with inflation.
The industrial land of Mather Air Force Base in Rancho Codova, which will close officially this year, is among the properties being eyed for a swap. Jim Trout of the State Lands Commission, stated: "We will trade 100,000 acres for 20, depending on value. STRS would lease the land and use the money for retirement pay."
If for some reason support for the desert bill falls apart, don't expect 'for sale' signs to sprout quickly between the lava rocks and atop the dunes.
| Walt Wheelock |
Desert fans interested in the Kelso Depot will be happy to know that the Bureau of Land Management is moving ahead with their project to convert this 1920s, two story, neo-mission style architectural beauty into a Visitors Center for the East Mojave National Scenic Area.
All the trees have been taken away, save the five stately palms, and the front yard is apparently awaiting future landscaping. The roof appears to have been fully repaired and the tiles are intact. Thus, the shell is now secured against the elements. The colony of bees in its eastern wall is no longer present.
Happily, the casement windows are of wood, as are the door frames, and all the protective plywood sheets are off and have been replaced with temporary clear plastic panels, fastened to each opening, prior to necessary window pane replacement. Now, anyone may look into the building from the outside and see its inside present bareness. This should deter vandals' forced entry--a plague in the past.
The six-hundred foot long, trackside brick promenade has been