The Joshua Tree is probably the most globally iconic desert plant in the Southwest. In fact, it would be impossible for a Southern Californian to imagine a desert landscape without Joshua trees on the horizon.
To help keep the twisty, spiky Yucca brevifola part of the desert, a petition to protect it under the California Endangered Species Act was submitted back in 2019. Unfortunately, nearly four years later, the California Fish and Game Commission—which decides which of these petitions move on to protection—can’t seem to agree on what to do.
The good news is that there isn’t exactly a shortage of Joshua trees right now, however. In addition to protections within the 800,000-acre Joshua Tree National Park, the western Joshua tree’s range extends far out into Palmdale and Lancaster and north along the Eastern Sierra and into Death Valley.
But according to advocates of protection, it’s not the current range that’s the issue but it’s future threats to the plant. The Joshua Tree is facing both development pressures in growing desert towns, along with hotter, drier climates, increased wildfires, and invasive plants. According to the LA Times, the plant’s low rate of reproduction means it can only migrate a few hundred yards each generation. At that rate, the Center for Biological Diversity, which filed the petition to protect the Joshua tree, estimates the species could lose 90% of its range by 2100.
It is perhaps this ambiguity that keeps holding up the decisions—if the designation moves forward, the Joshua tree would be the first species to earn protection in the state due to climate change.
A decision in June was deadlocked and punted to November of 2022. Unfortunately, due to deadlock, it’s been delayed – yet again – until February 2023. We really hope you enjoyed this article and learned a little bit more about the problems affecting the Joshua Tree. We are grateful for the opportunity to bring you tree news you can use each and every week. Thank you, as always, for your readership.
