Jono Hildner of No on Shadowrock, is on a mission in Palm Springs.
Our NO on C campaign is definitely a David vs Goliath contest. The election is November 6 and the Yes on C campaign filed a campaign report for the period ending September 22 showing a single contribution from the new owners of the property, a Wisconsin based investment group, of $225,000. We showed contributions for the year to date of just over $18,000. They had already spent much of their total, so I'm expecting at least that much more. We're hoping to raise $40,000. The campaign treasurer for their committee in this little municipal election is none other than Thomas W. Hiltachk, the Sacramento attorney who filed the initiative to change the way California elects electors to the Electoral College.
Video on this gorgeous space, the Chino Canyon, by the Friends of the Palm Springs Mountains. Watch it. We desert dwellers love our alluvial fans. You can help out right here. More below.
Here's the background, from the No on Shadowrock website.
ABOUT CHINO CANYON
The Chino Canyon alluvial fan, marks the scenic entrance to Palm Springs and the gateway to the Palm Springs Aerial Tram and San Jacinto/Santa Rosa Mountains National Monument. Visible from miles around, it is one of our City's most significant natural assets and one of its most memorable landmarks. It is treasured by residents and visitors as an awe-inspiring site that presents an unspoiled vista extending from the desert floor to the towering peak of San Jacinto. It is one of the few special places that has remained virtually unchanged over centuries of time.
Cultural and Ecological Resources:
Chino Canyon is an alluvial fan, created over thousands of years by the forces of mountain run-off sending huge boulders cascading down the face of the mountain. Over time, a broad fan-shaped slope was formed. The shape also resembles a cone, being narrow at the top and broad at the base, which is why Chino Canyon is often referred to as the Chino Cone.
Chino Canyon is named after the father of the legendary and powerful Pedro Chino, the last tribal shaman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
Home to threatened desert tortoise, the endangered least Bell's vireo and the site of a critical crossing for the endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep, Chino Canyon supports a broad range of desert mountain wildlife that are interdependent on the natural landscape and one another for survival.
Perhaps the most notable species is the endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep. The San Jacinto Mountains population has suffered tremendously over the last century, but recently the sheep have recently been showing promise of a comeback due to the combined efforts of public wildlife agencies and private non-profit research activities. It is widely believed that in order for this species to fully recover, the bighorn will need full access to their historic habitat located north of Chino Canyon. An important travel corridor connecting the sheep with this area is located on the site of the proposed Shadowrock project.
Permanent water sources and an abundance of wildlife for hunting and plants for gathering, made Chino Canyon an ideal environment for Cahuilla Indian life, perhaps since prehistoric times. Archeologists have documented the remains of early Cahuilla Indian villages and campsites located within the oasis above the Shadowrock project and within the Shadowrock project area itself. Five sites within the Shadowrock boundaries are significant enough to be considered "eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places." (Shadowrock Archaelogical Testing and Evaluation of Cultural Resources for the Shadowrock Project, Cultural Systems Research, Inc., October 20, 1992.)
Scenic beauty is perhaps the most apparent and widely-acknowledged value of Chino Canyon. Majestic, awe-inspiring, and spectacular are all commonly used adjectives that fall far short of conveying the feeling that is evoked as one stands on the valley floor and looks up through the Canyon to the peak of Mt. San Jacinto.
Is building yet another hotel and golf course really worth destroying this?