Creative FRONTLINE
Voices of Land Defenders and Environmental Justice Advocates on KPFk LOS ANGELES 90.7
I received a call at 7:30 in the morning from Preston Arrow-weed. Preston, a Quechan elder, expressed concern about a gold mine at Oro Cruz, on sacred land, and lithium mining activities at the Salton Sea. I had met Preston while making a film called “Who Are My People?”, about energy development impacts to desert landscapes I had known as a child.
Preston is an Actor and a Radio Producer. It seemed fitting to interview him for what then was conceived as a podcast called “Climate Change is Here.” I had felt an obligation following the making of the film to continue, but the film was perceived as controversial. It was difficult sledding and I took a break for a while. When Preston called, however, it became clear development in the pristine ecosystems of the Mojave Desert had not abated.
When the General Manager of KPFK heard the podcast and offered a timeslot on the venerable and powerful Pacifica Network station, I accepted. Later, Tracker Ginamarie Rangel Quinones joined the effort for a time. We were honored by being offered Primetime, first in the afternoons, then in the morning.
Our repertoire of over 70 programs continued to expand. We are now on the air in Los Angeles 6:00 am Drivetime Thursdays in the nation’s second largest media market.
In this post we provide links to resources. The recently aired episodes reside on the KPFK website at KPFK.org, under “Audio Archives,” by date, and time, for three months following broadcast.
The series website is located at https://Creative FRONTLINE.com.
Donations may be offered via the website homepage button (Scroll Down).
We are honored that an outstanding collection of easy to assimilate PRINT pieces appearing on the much venerated Salem-News.com may be accessed here, from the Creative FRONTLINE website.
All 70 episodes to date are resident on Soundcloud. We hope this provides ease of access for educators, researchers and environmentally concerned citizens/listeners.
We’re proud to announce that due to the authority and diligence of reporting from the Creative FRONTLINE contributors, significant policy victories have been achieved or accelerated. These include our “Four for Four” list:
Victories:
1. Cadiz Water Inc. License revocation by Governor Newsom
2. Establishment of Chuckwalla National Monument
3. 20 year halt of mining at Ash Meadows
4. Reviving the Colorado River
70 episodes on KPFK many focusing on Water in the West, the species, peoples, and agriculture. Journalism is “who, what, where, and why.” We do “why.”
The “why” in this case is the natural flow and unity of people, water, and all life., ours to live, protect, and cherish.
CreativeFRONTLINE on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles / 98.7 FM Santa Barbara has played a key role in the battle to protect abundance and biodiversity at locations across the Colorado Basin, producing several shows week after week raising awareness of our natural ecological systems in…
”Puha” with Mathew Leivas Sr. https://on.soundcloud.com/qHUTN3CqvGjibJvC6
“Water in the West” our Primetime launch
https://on.soundcloud.com/qHUTN3CqvGjibJvC6
“Underground River,” a fascinating journey downstream
https://on.soundcloud.com/2ywAhpueoLv5y51H6
“Timbisha” an informative visit with Timbisha Shoshone Tribal Historic Preservation Office Mandi Campbell
https://on.soundcloud.com/DoPXY1Sf5VK5i7kJA
“Amargosa” with Amargosa Conservancy’s Mason Voehl
https://on.soundcloud.com/Zqm8MFzzAs3qGKVr5
“Water, Springs, and Biodidersity” with Andy Zdon
https://on.soundcloud.com/uSnBFKkaqpC5vepT8
“The Water Cycle” with Andy Zdon, and others
https://on.soundcloud.com/diHx53b3GvEUJ5jn7
Like much of our work this topic provides a detailed in depth awareness from a multicultural perspective
Please contact the producers for more information.
Robert Lundahl, Filmmaker, Journalist, and Program Host is the Executive Producer,
All episodes are available for Public Radio Broadcast/NPR and other on PRX, Public Radio Exchange. Creative FRONTLINE and Climate Change is Here.
Here, topics are broken down into 4 playlists by topic thread for programmers
They are:
Chemehuevi Stories From the Colorado River and Beyond
Contemporary Tales of the American West
Lithium Mining in America–Destruction at Thacker Pass
And what of Quechan Tribal Elder Preston Arrow-weed? Right on all counts. His warnings have been heeded,
The Oro Cruz gold mining project, located in Imperial County, California, faced significant opposition from the Quechan Tribe and environmental groups, leading to its eventual halt.
The project, proposed by Southern Empire Resources, involved exploration activities like drilling and road construction in an area considered sacred and containing important cultural resources. The Quechan Tribe appealed the project's approval by the Imperial County Board of Supervisors and the Bureau of Land Management, citing concerns about environmental damage and cultural desecration.Ultimately, the Board of Supervisors voted to accept the appeal, halting the project.
Creative FRONTLINE and Emmy® Award Winning Executive Producer, Lundahl created numerous companion videos. Here, Preston tells the story.
His sincerity and intensive knowledge base won the day. Although stereotypically Southern California is thought of for its congested freeways, suburbs, and vacationing hoards, there is another Southern California, for the most part unspoiled, bio-diverse, and endangered, home to myriad species of animals and plants, and held sacred by indigenous and rural peoples. It extends from Joshua Tree National Park, across the Mojave to the Colorado River, then upwards to Death Valley, Ash Meadows, and into Nevada. It’s a land worth protecting and appreciating and has a future worth discussing.
Creative FRONTLINE is grateful to KPFK and our many contributors and friends for helping provide the opportunity to do the right thing.
Written by Robert Lundahl and Preston Arrow-weed. Visit us at https://www.robertlundahl.com