Biography

The ancient Joshua trees (known as sovarampi to the Southern Paiute, humwichawa to the Cahuilla, and umpu to the Western Shoshone) are a defining feature of the Mojave ecosystem. Over 600,000 acres of land in southern Nevada are under consideration for expanded land protection, to be designated as the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument. One current threat within this ecosystem is a proposed large-scale global wind energy project. Industrial "green" energy projects will continue to target this region, posing a significant threat to habitat, biodiversity, and sacred Indigenous sites. Noise and vibration from skyscraper-high wind turbines directly threaten the Mojave Desert Tortoise, federally protected under the Endangered Species Act. We must protect this land and decentralize the energy grid.