On May 5, 2025, Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association filed with the FCC to cancel its construction permit for KUPA FM 89.9 (Facility ID 766985) atop Hot Springs Mountain with Warner Springs as the community of license.

According to the manager of KPRI and the SCTCA FM Project, John Fox, “Barring interference from co-channel KCRW in LA and a station in Mexicali, the new class B FM would have been heard in parts of the city of San Diego and thanks to shielding from the Santa Ana mountains, through much of the Temecula Valley, plus most places in between, terrain permitting. The plan was at least initially to simulcast KPRI, Pala, turning “Rez Radio” into a multi-channel brand. It would have been totally solar and wind-powered with a propane generator backup.”

Fox said there were considerable technical challenges related to the remote and often inaccessible transmitter site. “This allocation has had a long, complicated history. The granting of the construction permit to SCTCA in 2022 was the result of a precedent-setting interpretation of the FCC’s Tribal Priority policy and other waivers for the benefit of the 18 federally recognized tribes in San Diego County—the most in any county in the U.S. For that reason alone, it’s a shame it didn’t work out.”