Comment EI-33040
Received or sent (printed as 8/17/2023)
"Invasion of non-native annual grasses, cheatgrass, and Mediterranean grass in the Mojave Desert in recent decades has altered the fire regime by creating areas with continuous fuel bed for fire to spread through naturally large gaps between perennial vegetation." The area is recognized as already being prone to wildfire due to high winds, high temperatures and low humidity. The recent York wildfire destroyed nearly 100,000 acres in the Mojave Nature Preserve is an example. The train route is home to the endangered desert tortoise and threatens the species due to wildfire, the line's construction and future operation. Fire fighting resources are non-existent or very limited thereby increasing the risks to public safety when those same resources are re-directed away from the sparse resident and business population to emergencies created by this new rail line. Relying on out dated environmental data that does not recognize the existence of the invasive grasses and altering fire regime jeopardizes public safety.
Submitted by: Bob Landwehr · MURRIETA, CA
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-35544/comment/EI-33040 · back to the docket sheet