The U.S. Bureau of Land Management this week rejected an application for a controversial solar project in the Mojave Desert's Silurian Valley. Conservation groups, including Audubon California, had raised concerns over the project because it was outside established development areas and included pristine habitat areas. In the end, the BLM found these arguments persuasive:

Jim Kenna, the BLM's California director, made the decision, finding that Iberdrola Renewables' proposal would have industrialized 24 square miles of “a largely undisturbed valley that supports wildlife, an important piece of the Old Spanish National Historic Trail, and recreational and scenic values.”