A deal on conservation and renewable energy between the state of California and federal agencies that was eight years in the making is now a reality. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell signed the record of decision finalizing the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan on Wednesday in Palm Desert.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has issued an historic and far-reaching decision balancing conservation with renewable energy development across a vast swath of the California desert. It's called the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, or DRECP, and will permanently protect significant areas of public lands in the California desert—including the Silurian Valley, Mayan Peak, and Chuckwalla Bench.

The Desert, is might be accurately stated, is lush with pure mystery and magic. One minute we're rambling along a clutch of creosote bushes, lost in reverie, when a darting catches our eye (a small bird, perhaps, or a lizard). Its wonders are plentiful and surprising, but we mostly experience them by the light of our planet's nearest star. To see someplace epic, like the Cadiz Dunes Wilderness Area, by the light of our lunar satellite is something pretty darn special, and if it is a full moon? Well, right there you have a walk to remember, even if you don't spy any lizards or birds along the way.

Our California Desert has more open space and more sunshine than anywhere else on the continent.  Despite falling within a proverbial stone’s throw of 22 million southern Californians, our desert offers unparalleled opportunities for solitude, an amazing wildlife heritage, and fascinating cultural artifacts ranging from early human settlement to World War II.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust is celebrating 10 years of acquiring California desert property to preserve from development. Donations have helped the land trust protect over 60,000 acres of the Mojave Desert. The Mojave Desert Land Trust was formed in 2006 by a small group of people who believed the desert landscape was facing increasing threats from inappropriate development and renewable energy projects.

Mariana Maguire of the Conservation Lands Foundation and Frazier Haney of the Mojave Desert Land Trust will present “Meet the New California Desert National Monuments” when the San Gorgonio Chapter of the Sierra Club meets 7:30 p.m. Aug. 2 at the San Bernardino County Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands.