Meredith Stevenson, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, is spearheading an effort to push back against a luxury glamping resort project planned for a pristine slice of residential haven in Twentynine Palms, California, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"The city just completely overlooked so many impacts," she said, highlighting the city's approval of the 152-acre project and the negative impact it will have on the local wildlife and residents.
Twentynine Palms is a gateway to the Mojave Desert, home to stunning geographical features and diverse wildlife, including a keystone species, the desert tortoise. It has a Bortle scale of 1 to 2, making it one of the best low-light environments in the U.S. for stargazing.
In a moment of extreme performative contradiction, Ofland Hotels' head of development, Luke Searcy, said that the company was drawn to the area because of its unique culture and natural beauty.
Businesses erecting 30-story condos on pristine beachfront properties should take notes. Fortunately, for the residents in Twentynine Palms, there's power in numbers, as many oppose the project, with the backing of the Indian Cove Neighbors and the Center for Biological Diversity.
The latter has filed hundreds of lawsuits since 2015 to combat industrialization, development, and building projects that ignore environmental issues such as habitat destruction, pollution, and threats to endangered or threatened species, according to the organization's site. Experience in the courtroom will not be an issue here.
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With the project targeting a local wildlife corridor, amid accusations of falsifying reports on local wildlife impacts, the residents of Twentynine Palms have plenty of backing.
Despite claims that the project is "conservation-based," there's the question of cause and effect of expansion. Once a major business gains a foothold in the area, foot traffic, employee traffic, vendors, and expanding development projects logically follow.
It's the same story anywhere major brands extend into rural areas, changing zoning definitions, raising the local real estate prices, damaging local ecosystems, and growing exponentially.
Those who live in Twentynine Palms have legitimate concerns, and that goes for the local Marine Corps base as well, where Marines shelter and care for a Captive Rearing Site, home to hundreds of desert tortoises, a species listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
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"The whole area is on the chopping block at this point," said a local bakery owner, Travis Proston. Fortunately, with residents taking a stand, Ofland Hotels won't have the final say on this one.
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