Today, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous court decision overturning the land exchange necessary for the development of what would be the world's largest garbage dump on the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park.

Statement by NPCA California Desert Program Manager Mike Cipra

“For more than a decade, the National Parks Conservation Association has been involved in fighting the proposed Eagle Mountain Landfill, and today’s decision is a major victory for everyone who cares about Joshua Tree National Park.

“The proposed Eagle Mountain Landfill would be located just outside park boundaries and accept up to 20,000 tons of trash per day for 117 years, primarily delivered by trains from Los Angeles County, putting wilderness areas and wildlife at risk. 

“Development of this massive landfill could devastate significant portions of the park’s wilderness with noise and light pollution of the night sky, threaten wildlife such as desert bighorn sheep, impair desert vistas, and destroy the solitude of the wilderness setting for park visitors. It would also undermine efforts to help the recovery of the threatened desert tortoise by inflating the population of predators and scavengers such as ravens that prey on the iconic species.

“Today’s ruling is a landmark victory for Joshua Tree National Park’s bighorn sheep, desert tortoises, and the 1.3 million people who come here every year to enjoy our beloved national park.

“We thank the Stanford Environmental Law Clinic for their outstanding legal work on this case, and acknowledge the longtime advocacy of Larry and Donna Charpied, who have been organizing to raise awareness about the proposed landfill for more than two decades.”

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To see the full court ruling, visit: http://www.npca.org/media_center/pdf/Ninth_Circuit_Opinion.pdf
For background information, visit: http://www.npca.org/pacific/desert/threats/eaglemountaindump.pdf