Modern Issues
Today, some of the major issues facing the River Yuman tribes have to do with proposed commercial uses of the surrounding desert landscape. Where modern-day policy decision-makers see a barren desert landscape of little cultural or environmental value, the River Yuman tribes see a sacred landscape important to their cultural heritages. These differing viewpoints have often led to clashes between the Yuman people and the U.S. government and commercial companies.
In 1989, the company U.S. Ecology submitted a license application to construct and operate a low level radioactive waste dump at Ward Valley, California, located some 20 miles from the Colorado River and within the traditional territory of the River Yuman people. Because the proposed site was to be located on federal land, a federal permit was needed. Almost immediately all five of the River Yuman tribes expressed concern about radioactive leakage and the potential damage to their ancestral lands. Elders from these tribes made visits to Washington, D.C. to lobby against the facility, and in 2002 the California legislature passed a bill cancelling the project. Every year since then, the Colorado River Indian tribes have gathered in Ward Valley to celebrate this victory.
The fight to protect the Mohave desert landscape continues in tribal opposition to a proposed solar panel field in Imperial Valley. This project called for the construction of 28,000 solar panels in the field, which the Quechan believed would damage the landscape and impact the flat-tailed horned lizard, which plays an important role in their creation legends. In October of 2010 they asked a federal judge to issue an injunction against the project, and in December of that year the court agreed, stating this that additional consultation and research was required before the project can be approved. After posting financial losses, the solar project was subsequently abondoned by the solar company, though additional solar projects in the area are in the works.
Source - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nellis_AFB_Solar_panels.jpg