Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve Faces Grave Threat

NEGATIVE IMPACTS                             Also read this article

1. Sound will be clearly heard on Reserve hiking trails and in a wide area of Antelope Acres.

• Hiking through field of wildflowers and listening to the drone of high performance racing engines are clearly incompatible experiences!   

• 81% of the respondents to a survey of Poppy Reserve visitors indicated that their visits to the Reserve would be significantly decreased if a racetrack were built nearby.  44% indicated that they would never come again!

• Fewer visitors will equal decreased revenue that is vital, both for protection of the fragile wildflower fields and continuation of public recreational use. 

• These funds are particularly crucial during this time of fiscal crisis in the State of California.

 2.  Zone change to industrial/ commercial will open the door to more damaging developments and is completely incompatible with the rural nature of the area and an existing state park dedicated to hiking and nature.

3.  Existing property owners, who bought and built under existing zoning of agricultural and residential, will suffer from extreme noise and likely experience devaluation of their properties: after all, who wants to live near a racetrack ?

4. Racetrack property includes important  Antelope Valley Prehistoric Sites. These sites indicate that Fairmont Butte was a center for both trade and tool-making in the era before European contact. Development of the racetrack will greatly endanger these sites.  Also, the racetrack property was part of the original area the state wanted for the Poppy Reserve.  (See map page)  Another reason why it should not be developed.

5. Racetrack will be an “attractive nuisance” drawing additional illegal off-road activity to area causing severe damage.

6.  Dust, air and light pollution will increase. Light pollution will negate use of the reserve for star parties for local astronomy groups and will likely have a significant detrimental impact on the primarily nocturnal desert ecosystem.  Numerous studies have shown that exposure to artificial lights can interrupt animals’ biological clocks and disrupt their ecosystem.

7. Wildlife corridors necessary to maintain ecological balance will be negatively impacted.

8.  Racetrack will destroy prime areas for wildflowers and other disappearing native plants.  Area proposed for this development includes part of the Fairmont-Antelope Buttes Significant Ecological Area (SEA No. 57)  which contains "desert butte" a sensitive area for birds of prey.