New cell tower in Morongo Valley aims to improve connectivity, but residents push back

MORONGO VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – A new project is aiming to provide faster, more reliable cell service to the Morongo Basin, but nearby residents are voicing concern ahead of the start of construction.

The Bureau of Land Management's Palm Springs Office announced late May it had approved an application for the Morongo Canyon Highway 62 Multi-Tenant Wireless Broadband Communications Site. The telecommunications site would support Executive Order No. 13821, signed in 2018 by President Trump, to bolster high-speed connectivity in rural areas across the country.

The approval authorizes InterConnect Towers, LLC to construct, operate, maintain and eventually decommission the wireless broadband communications site. It also amends desert conservation plans in the area.

It is unclear which telecommunications companies will utilize the new tower.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) maintains a map that shows cell coverage throughout the nation. In portions of the High Desert, there are areas of spotty cell service that the new tower hopes to address. Below, you can see that map – areas in a lighter purple color show incomplete cell coverage.

Some spots along Highway 62 are not served at all by cell carriers, according to the map.

Nearby residents, though, balked at the idea of the cell site. They said they had been opposing plans for the original site for the cell tower since 2022. That location was just a stone's throw away from the site that was eventually approved this year by the BLM.

Sara Fernandez lives right next to the approved site and has taken charge on the effort to oppose the new tower.

"We're not opposed to better communications as a community. I mean, everybody wants reliable communications, especially when public safety is concerned," she clarified.

But, she continued, "We just don't believe that the BLM adequately demonstrated the need for this specific tower at this specific location and proved that it would address those service concerns."

She pointed out how big of an eye sore the tall tower would be for those driving into the community and for the residents who specifically chose to move there for the views. From her porch, she has clear views of both Mt. San Gorgonio and Mt. San Jacinto; with the new tower, though, it would obstruct her line of sight to the latter. She said many residents faced similar issues, which could take away the reason they moved to the area.

"It's not just about the views. It's it's the fact that the land that the tower will be located on has protections," she pointed out. The approved site required the BLM to roll back land use restrictions, which residents worried could open the door to more invasive infrastructure in the future, potentially taking away land for recreation.

She also addressed how the BLM's change from the original site to the approved site was not adequately communicated to residents.

"They are framing it as a reduced view alternative, but we don't believe the view is reduced for many. In fact, it's gotten worse for many," she argued. "The people who are most impacted by the new location never had an opportunity to respond or to comment on it publicly because the new location didn't appear until the final document, which wasn't subject to public review."

Together, Fernandez and some of her neighbors further discussed other issues that could stem from the tower. Morongo Valley, a high-wind area, is prone to fire risk, and they shared their worries about potential fire impacts with a tall tower obstructing firefighting aircraft. They also said the tower and the equipment that powers it could add to fire danger.

Beyond that, they went through the environmental impacts. Their community sits among a wildlife corridor by both land and air. They said light pollution and other impacts could affect the way wildlife moves in the area.

A communications tower already exists in Morongo Valley. This one, shown below, is on the eastern portion of the community.

It's a broadcasting tower, and according to Fernandez, Riverside County has moved to replace it with a better tower that would allow for both cell service upgrades and continued use for television and radio signals. She also said CalTrans has been working on a project that would bring a relay of fiber optic cables through the Morongo Grade along Highway 62, which would improve cell service there, as well.

"We have these two other infrastructure projects I just mentioned that will significantly improve communications to Morongo Valley and beyond. So we're really posing the question – 'Why do we need this tower?'"

The Bureau of Land Management did not respond to several requests for comment, but more details about the approved telecommunications site can be found here.