AB 1073 would allow the destructive Calico Solar Project to wreak havoc on the sensitive Pisgah Valley -- and the struggling desert tortoises, bighorn sheep and other wildlife that depend on it for survival. Write your State Assembly member urging them to reject AB 1073 -- a harmful bill that would destroy sensitive habitat that struggling desert wildlife depend on to survive.  Share on Facebook

A bill quickly moving through the State Assembly could spell disaster for California's struggling desert tortoises, bighorn sheep and other desert wildlife.

The final vote in the Legislature could happen as early as tomorrow.

Please take action now: Write your State Assembly member urging them to reject AB 1073 -- a harmful bill that would destroy sensitive habitat that struggling desert wildlife depend on to survive.

AB 1073 is a dangerous bill that exempts the Calico Solar Project -- one of the most harmful proposed solar projects in the state -- from crucial environmental reviews.

Even worse, this bill is being rushed through the Legislature with NO hearing on the substance of the bill in the State Assembly. In fact, Defenders and our partners were poised to kill this bill in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on Monday, but in a completely unprecedented move, the bill sponsors were able to get AB 1073 pulled from the committee hearing and sent directly to the Assembly Floor for a vote.

If this bill passes, the Calico Solar Project would be allowed to tear through the heart of the Pisgah Valley's sensitive desert habitat -- and would destroy the homes that threatened desert tortoises, iconic bighorn sheep and other desert wildlife need to survive.

We can't let this happen.

Please take action now to oppose AB1073.

For years, Defenders and our conservation partners have been successfully working with solar companies and state, local and federal agencies to ensure that alternative energy projects are "smart from the start" -- and consider the impacts on our wildlife and wild places.

But backers of the more than 4,000-acre Calico Project have rejected alternatives offered by conservationists and land planners, opting instead for a plan to that will severely impact the heart of California's sensitive desert habitat.

Now, their allies in the State Assembly are going all out to allow the project to move forward -- even pulling questionable legislative maneuvers to sneak the bill through the Assembly.

Our desert wildlife needs your voice now. Please write your Assembly member today and urge them to reject this terrible bill.

Thank you for all you do to protect our wildlife and wild places.

Sincerely, Kim Delfino California Program Director Defenders of Wildlife