Desert Business Organizations Show Support for California Desert National Monuments on Regional Billboards

Locations Along I-15 in Victorville & Hesperia and Hwy 62 in Morongo Basin Tout Business Support for Mojave Trails, Castle Mountains & Sand to Snow National Monuments

29 PALMS, CA - The 29 Palms Inn and three desert business organizations – Joshua Gateway Communities, Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District, and Morongo Valley Chamber of Commerce – launched three billboards and a series of banners (click here for visuals) this week showing the desert businesses’ support for Mojave Trails, Castle Mountains, and Sand to Snow national monuments, located on public lands in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The billboards feature an attractive, full-color graphic of a desert landscape combining features of all three national monuments. They also include the partnering business entities’ logos and the message, “Desert Businesses Support San Bernardino County’s National Monuments - Mojave Trails, Castle Mountains, Sand to Snow.”  The banners feature similar messaging.

The billboards and banners will be displayed for 12 weeks at the following locations:

• Hesperia on I-15 northbound, ~0.5 miles south of Bear Valley Road (Exit 147), facing south on the right-hand side (vinyl billboard).
• Victorville on I-15 northbound, ~0.7 miles north of La Mesa Rd./Nisqualli Rd. (Exit 148), facing south on the right-hand side (digital billboard).
• Twentynine Palms on Hwy. 62 westbound, just southwest of the intersection of Hwy. 62 and Lear Ave., facing east on the left-hand side (vinyl billboard).
• Village of Joshua Tree on Hwy. 62 eastbound, 0.6 miles east of the intersection of Hwy. 62 and La Contenta Rd., facing west on the right-hand side (two vinyl banners).

Mojave Trails, Castle Mountains, and Sand to Snow national monuments, established on February 12, 2016, preserve some of the most unique and intact desert landscape in the world, including the longest undeveloped stretch of Historic Route 66, unique wildlife and plants, rugged mountain ranges, sand dunes and palm oases, and a rich tapestry of Native American cultural heritage.  The monuments offer visitors a myriad of opportunities for exploration and recreation.

Desert business organizations are advertising their support for the California desert’s newest tourist destinations at a time when area attractions like Joshua Tree National Park are setting visitation records and experiencing crowding.

“Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow, and Castle Mountains national monuments have been bright new stars on the map to bring visitors to the desert,” said Breanne Dusastre, Director of Marketing for the 29 Palms Inn. “The new monuments provide visitors with more opportunities for recreation and exploring and a reason to stay a few extra days in the California desert and to come back sooner.”

“The California Desert monuments reward nature lovers and adventure seekers with unique experiences that make our region even more appealing,” said Ann Congdon, Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District advisory board member and vacation rental owner. “As a result, I see an influx of tourists and tourism-based businesses in 29 Palms.”

“I am grateful for the formation of these national monuments that are absolutely vital to wildlife survival, and preservation of desert beauty for future generations,” said Jerry Mattos, chair of Joshua Tree Gateway Communities. “As a commercial property owner, these monuments are important to my economic survival. The tourism industry supports thousands of jobs in our desert communities, and our California Desert monuments draw visitors throughout the year. I am thankful for these monuments, the wildlife they protect, the beauty they preserve, and the support they provide our local economy."

“The Morongo Valley Chamber of Commerce strongly supports national monuments and recognizes the economic benefits to our community,” said Meg Foley, Morongo Valley Chamber of Commerce board member. “Morongo Valley's long-term support is exemplified by one local business owner's decision to name his establishment ‘Sand to Snow Monument Bar and Grille’ years before the actual designation.” 

These advertisements also come at a time when the current administration in Washington, D.C., has been reviewing many of our country’s national monuments and is taking unprecedented steps to reduce the size of several monuments, including at Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah, thus opening up unique natural and historic features to potential development.

“We certainly hope President Trump doesn’t try to shrink the California Desert national monuments. We appreciate our local elected representatives who are speaking out for the protection of our national monuments and hope others join them,” said Dusastre. “The monuments have been a boon for our region and many tourism-based businesses are making investments as a result.  We’d hate to see those efforts undermined.”

For more information, visit www.3monuments.org/smallbiz. The 29 Palms Inn paid for billboards and banners to raise awareness about how the monuments benefit San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Pictures of the billboards and banners can be seen here.  Hi-res versions for promotional and media purposes can be downloaded from the DropBox:  http://bit.ly/DesertBillboards.

Contact: Breanne Dusastre, 29 Palms Inn, 415-827-0420