Please Help Save the Cactus to Clouds Trail (and other trails) in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mtns National Presevere

Thanks for the heads up on this Nick, I'll certainly voice my concerns.

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll look into it.

I haven't really ever hiked out in that area before, but I can appreciate that the area and trail network are valuable resources for the communities nearby.

I'm generally suspect of any federal land swaps that appear to give away more than they receive back; especially if existing public trail (access) could be adversely affected. Without looking into the details yet, on its face, it seems to benefit the Tribe more than the public (via BLM). The net benefit to the BLM seems to be that it simplifies (reduces?) their land management responsibilities.

I'm not all that familiar with the area; having only been to Palm Springs once or twice, but would I be right in assuming that the pieces of BLM lands closest to Palm Springs/Cathedral City that would be given up to the Tribe would be the most vulnerable to future development by the Tribe?

Seems to me if BLM and the Tribe would agree to binding terms concerning future development potential of lands affected by the swap and ongoing guarantees of public access to existing formal (and informal) trails on lands that would be deeded to the Tribe, that would go a long way to assuaging folks' concerns. Is that an accurate characterization?

Thanks Nick.

Email sent.

Nico,

It is a complicated issue, thus the length of time this land swap has been in the works. Generally I side with Native American tribes when it comes to their lands. We have historically treated them poorly and generally have no compunction in breaking treaties. Most recent shams are the dams built by the Bureau of Reclamation requiring land swaps for areas that ended up UNDER reservoirs.

The Agua Calinete Indians (they call themselves Indians, so I will use that term) are the largest land owners in the Palm Springs area, they own about 50% of the land. Basically, from the fallout of the 19th century novel Ramona, by Helen Hunt Jackson, a lot of land was set aside for the Indians. When the railroad was built in the 19th century, the government gave every other section of land along the railway easement to the railroad and held the rest.

Eventually the Indians were given most of the government land in the Palm Springs area. See map below:

Some of the land is owned by the tribe and the rest by individual Indians. The Indians cannot sell their land, but they can lease it… so if you buy a house or condo you always need to know if the land is fee or leased.
The Indians have done well from the income their lands produce. Some of the lands in Palm Canyon are open to the public for hiking, but you must pay an entrance fee, the same for Tahquitz Canyon. I have no problem with that. The Indians own this land and have the right to charge for access.

Now for the land in question, which is inside of the National Preserve. Keep in mind that each brown square is a section or 640 acres, which is a square mile. The land the Indians want will fill in the checkerboard of what the presently own, making large contiguous parcels of land, which could now be developed. The current checkerboard configuration precludes development. Think of it as a game of monopoly. You cannot build houses or hotels unless you own all the same colored properties. The Indians are trying to get all the same colored properties in the area.

The tribe has said that they do not plan to restrict access and will manage it as the BLM does, but they have said the BLM can restrict access if they please… so that is a big flag.

We have to remember that any restrictions made as a part of the land swap are probably not going to hold up in court. The Agua Caliente Tribe is a sovereign nation, with powerful attorneys, so it is predictable that this is where this is going to eventually go.
As far as “managing” the current BLM properties… the BLM doesn’t manage it, it is just in their inventory. The BLM has a horrible record for managing government lands in the California Desert. When the Mohave National Preserve was created, the land was under the BLM. It was transferred to the National Park Service because of the BLM’s history of caving into special interests and being poor stewards of our public lands.

Here is my opinion (even as a strong advocate of a free market system), we need to set aside lands and keep them wild. This land swap is probably going to end the “wild” in the subject sections and surrounding areas.