Action timeline

2003 – The Center and the Sierra Club filed suit to overturn the City of Palm Springs' approval of a sprawling residential and resort development. The project, known as the "Palm Springs Classic," sought to blade 460 acres of wildlife habitat to make way for 1,450 homes, an 18-hole golf course, and a 500-room hotel.

2006 – The Center gave notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to overturn the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard's Habitat Conservation Plan. As the Service itself admitted, the plan failed to adequately protect blowsand sources that are critical to maintaining fringe-toed lizard habitat.

2007 – The Center and Sierra Club filed suit to challenge a controversial annexation approved by the Riverside Local Agency Formation Commission, a regional agency charged with discouraging urban sprawl. The annexation would open the door for a luxury resort on recognized conservation lands at the heart of a regional habitat plan near Joshua Tree National Park.

Photo © William Flaxington