Larry and Donna Charpied: (760) 392-4722
Penny Newman, CCAEJ: (909) 360-8451
Les Starks: (760) 323-4089
Karen Monster: (760) 325-4010

Rockin' For Joshua Tree
A Rock n' Roll Benefit Concert in support of efforts to Stop the Eagle Mountain Dump
EARTH DAY
Saturday April 22, 2000
7:00 PM
Festival Of Arts Theater
2300 Baristo Road, Palm Springs

Color Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Eric Burdon has launched a campaign to protect Joshua Tree National Park, with an Earth Day benefit concert in Palm Springs to support the decade long battle to Stop the Eagle Mountain Dump. On Earth Day, Saturday April 22 at 7:00 PM at the Festival of Arts Theater, 2300 Baristo Road, Palm Springs, Rock musician's Eric Burdon and the New Animals, Karen Monster and James Gurley, Eric Neil and the JT Shakers, and other rock artists will "raise the roof" in order to raise funds to support the current legal battle to stop the dump proposal. The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Bird Singers and Dancers will conduct an opening ceremony.

The legendary Eric Burdon and The Animals were inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame for their major hits in the 60's including "House of the Rising Sun", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "We Got to Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life (?and I'll do what I want)". This unprecedented merging of rock 'n roll and desert activists comes about through a joint concern for the degradation of the desert this dump poses. " I have been visiting Joshua Tree National Park for it's beauty and inspiration for over 20 years", says Eric Burdon. "I believe it is our duty and responsibility to protect this unique area to enable our children, and their children to enjoy the same experiences we enjoy today."

The Eagle Mountain Dump threatens Joshua Tree National Park, the already threatened desert tortoise, among other native desert plants & animals. Designated wilderness areas will be littered with Southern California's garbage, scarce water resources of the Chuckwalla Valley & Joshua Tree National Park will be depleted, air quality will be degraded with 5,000 plus tons of air pollution annually, and the last remaining designated Class I airshed in the continental United States will be ruined. All for garbage.

Tickets for Rockin' For Joshua Tree are on sale at the Theater's Box Office, at (760) 325-6565. Ticket prices are $35, with "Premium Seats" at $100, which includes a poster and reception with the artists after the show. All ticket sales and donations go directly to Stop The Eagle Mountain Dump.

Sponsors of the event include Musicians Outlet, Mr. and Mrs. Supple, LaRonna Jojoba Company, Jamba Juice, Center For Community Action and Environmental Justice, a longtime Riverside County activist group that emerged out of the battle against a toxic dump, the Stringfellow Acid Pits; Idavid Graficks, graphic artists from Joshua Tree; high desert radio's Gary Daignault Z 1077; Coachella Valley's radio KPSI 920 AM; KDES 104.7 FM, POWER RADIO 100.5; KGAM 1450 AM.

BACKGROUND:The proposed dump at Eagle Mountain would parade trash trains and trash trucks carrying 40 million pounds of garbage daily, rumbling through the Coachella valley for the next 100 years, to be deposited at the doorstep of Joshua Tree National Park.
Riverside County first approved the dump in 1992. Environmentalist challenged the approvals successfully in California Superior Court, and in 1994 the project lost all approvals, and was back to step one. In 1997, Kaiser Ventures and Mine Reclamation Corporation (MRC) produced a new environmental report (EIR) and again was successfully challenged in Superior Court. This time, Riverside County Board of Supervisors and Kaiser/MRC appealed the decision, and on May 7, 1999, the Appeals Court overturned the Lower Court's ruling. Opponents filed a Petition For Review in the California Supreme Court. We were joined in that effort through "Friends of the Court" letters from California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Joshua Tree National Park Superintendent Ernest Quintana, the Sierra Club, California Advocates for Wildlife (CLAW), Mountain Lion Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Planning and Conservation League, Southwest Center for Biodiversity, Earthlaw, and others. In July 1999, the California Supreme Court denied our request for a hearing. A Federal lawsuit has been filed by Larry & Donna Charpied, the Desert Protection Society, and the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ) on December 20, 1999, challenging the land exchange granted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), among other issues of law.
This legal action becomes more critical with the efforts by the Los Angeles Sanitation District in negotiating with Kaiser/MRC to purchase the Eagle Mountain dump for its own use. Riverside County and Joshua Tree National Park will become the dumping ground for LA's waste, with Riverside County and National Park Service having little if any control over the dump once LA owns it.

If you like good ole rock n' roll or are concerned about our desert environment, join us for a fun evening and support a good cause in Rockin' For Joshua Tree. For more information call (760) 392-4722, CCAEJ at (909) 360-8451, or log on to www.stopthedump.com. Donations to support the legal battle can also be made. Checks should be made payable to CCAEJ, earmarked for Stop The Eagle Mountain Dump, mailed to PO Box 33124, Riverside, Ca. 92519. CCAEJ is a non-profit organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3). All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.