A Collaborative Approach to Species Conservation
by Krystian Lahage
The iconic western Joshua tree, a highly emblematic keystone, flagship, and umbrella species of the Mojave Desert is in dire straits. Wildfires, invasive grasses, and habitat loss due to human development are detrimental to the species and its habitat.
Climate change multiplies the impact of these threats, with longer and hotter droughts reducing the number of young Joshua trees. Available species distribution models suggest that areas predicted to be suitable for western Joshua tree based on twentieth century climate data will decline substantially through the end of the twenty-first century as a result of climate change, especially in the southern and lower elevational portions of its range, which includes its namesake Joshua Tree National Park.
hough we do not fully understand how the species will respond to a changing climate in the future, a peer-reviewed study showed that suitable Joshua tree habitat in Joshua Tree National Park may shrink to 2% under shifting temperature and precipitation patterns projected by certain climate scenarios. Suitable Joshua tree habitat is simply moving north and into higher elevations more quickly than Joshua trees can disperse and adapt without intervention.
Photo: Mojave Desert Land Trust
Photo: Mojave Desert Land Trust
TThere have been several efforts to elevate the conservation status of the Western Joshua Tree. A petition to list the Joshua tree under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was heard and reviewed twice until the federal government decided against listing in 2019. A separate effort to list under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) began in 2020, but repeated deadlocks in the California Fish and Game Commission indefinitely halted progress. To address the species’ immediate need for additional protections, California’s legislature introduced and passed the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act, marking the first protections in the state for a climate-threatened species.
The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act prohibits the take of western Joshua trees in California unless authorized by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). It also allows CDFW to issue permits for incidental take of western Joshua trees, provided certain requirements and mitigation is met or for CDFW to receive specified fees in lieu of mitigation activities. These fees will be used to protect significant Joshua tree habitat. Finally, the legislation requires CDFW to develop and implement a western Joshua tree conservation plan in collaboration with governmental agencies, California Native American tribes, and the public. The draft version of this plan was published on November 28th and CDFW will hear public comment at its February 2025 meeting.
While the Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) applauds the state for working towards a conservation solution, we are concerned that the Act has not built enough funding or incentivized the innovative programs needed to efficiently address the species’ decline. In response, MDLT started conversations with our partners including federal and state agencies, researchers, and other nonprofits to envision what is needed to truly protect the Joshua tree. In 2023, with California Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) funding, MDLT initiated the Joshua Tree Conservation Coalition to ensure communication and collaboration between agencies, land managers, Tribes, researchers, and other stakeholders. In a separate but complimentary effort to the coalition, MDLT is also working with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on a WCB-funded research project to build a comprehensive demographic dataset to monitor the status of western Joshua trees across their entire range in California over the long term.
The coalition will apply lessons from the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition, which unites public and non-governmental partners. The Joshua Tree Conservation Coalition is led by a steering committee including representatives from the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, the Native American Land Conservancy (NALC), USGS, CDFW, and MDLT. The Native American Land Conservancy will take the lead in tribal engagement initiatives for the project with the goal of having a tribal liaison in the coalition and a tribal committee to inform the coalition as a whole and to support increased tribal stewardship and management.
The steering committee is carefully designing the coalition to foster meaningful collaborative action. The next steps will involve identifying and engaging the diverse range of agencies, organizations, and tribal partners, whose expertise and shared commitment will be vital to safeguarding Joshua trees.
Together, the coalition will implement proactive conservation in the face of uncertainty. Partners will conduct range-wide coordination and collective action to effectively support the long-term survival and persistence of Joshua trees in response to the landscape-scale stressors they face. Implementing effective large-scale conservation and stewardship actions is challenging due to a lack of funding and personnel, limited research and data, and the uncertainty in the timing and magnitude of the Joshua tree’s response to climate change. The coalition will address this by bringing together monitoring, research efforts, and priority-setting efforts, and coordinating where feasible. Partners will compile and share best practices, guidance, information, and lessons learned for large-scale stewardship. MDLT will provide additional leadership and logistical coordination for these efforts.
This highly collaborative and innovative approach is timely and will help to ensure the long-term viability of the Joshua tree. We are honored to play a role in the protection of this iconic species and all the life that calls the desert home.
The coalition’s steering committee met in Joshua Tree National Park November 18th-19th to draft a mission and charter and will meet monthly as they continue to build out the coalition’s framework.
Krystian Lahage is the Public Policy Officer for the Mojave Desert Land Trust. He previously served as the Legislative Affairs Manager for the County of Orange covering infrastructure, climate, water, and green energy issues and as the Senior Field Representative and wildfire taskforce co-lead for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange Counties.
