You talking about the Imperial Valley or the Central Valley? The former is naturally desert, the latter was naturally abundant in wetlands and flood-prone grasslands, before agriculture took over.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salton_Trough

It sounds like you're talking about the Imperial Valley, which is a different ball of wax from the whole wetland-draining argument here.

I object to "desert shithole" --- the Sonoran Desert is an ecosystem worthy of value in its own right, we just don't benefit from it as humans unless we turn to resource extraction or agriculture.

You're right I misspoke. I'm talking about the Imperial valley.