InterConnect Towers LLC has asked the Bureau of Land Management in California for permission to build a 196-foot tower in a remote area along Highway 62. As DesertSun.com reports, a land-use plan amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Plan would be needed in order for the plan to proceed. The desired location is in Morongo Valley near Canyon House Road, public land encompassing nearly two acres, leaving plenty of room for the 23-foot-wide triangular base needed to support the tower.
The company has expressed a wish to expand a network of towers across lonely desert regions in California, Arizona, and Nevada to address the region’s numerous dead spots. Taking a cautious approach the BLM has said it will conduct various environmental analyses before granting its approval. Areas to investigate range from biological resources, to environmental justice, geological and soil sampling, public recreation, and other more.
“If there are any sound waves coming out of this tower, or any of that, we have a very quiet little basin and it will literally travel throughout,” said Jessica von Der Ahe, a resident advocating for local birds. “If the birds are migrating out here and they hear this sound, are they still going to be coming to our basin? That’s my number one concern.” “This is absolutely going to dominate the view there,” worried Morongo Valley resident Kimberly Keilbach. “And I think that’s something that needs to be really, fully considered.”
“I’ve felt the social and economic impact of not having reliable service, internet service or cell service, from where I live,” said valley resident Angie Langley in support of the cell tower proposal. “…And I know my neighbors have a lot of concerns. I, for one, am glad to have the progress in Morongo Valley,” reported DesertSun.com.
“We hear you and we hear that you would like a biological survey report, including birds and other wildlife that are relevant to the area, and additional environmental health studies [that] may impact the citizens of the community,” said project manager with the California Desert District of the BLM, Matt Toedtli. “We need to hear from the public,” he affirmed. “And so that’s what we’re doing right now.”
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