California lawmakers voted to permanently protect the iconic western Joshua tree, handing a hard-fought victory for environmentalists who have warned that the climate crisis has endangered these high desert landmarks.
The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act was passed Tuesday as part of the state’s budget agreement. It prohibits the illegal killing or removal of the trees, requires the development of a conservation plan, and sets up a fund to protect the species. It appears to be the first California legislation focused on protecting a species threatened by climate change.
“It’s been a long road to get here,” said Brendan Cummings, the Center for Biological Diversity’s conservation director, who has led efforts to list Joshua trees as an endangered species for years. “We can finally move from debating whether Joshua trees should be protected to focusing on actually taking action to ensure they survive the very difficult decades ahead.”
The western Joshua tree is one of two genetically distinct species (the other being the eastern Joshua tree) and its range extends from Joshua Tree National Park to the northern slopes of the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains.
The spiky, lanky plants can grow up to 40 feet tall and live to be around 200 years old. They have been growing in the eastern desert region of California since the Pleistocene 2.5 million years ago. But global warming threatens to decimate the species.
A 2019 study conducted by researchers at UC Riverside found that just 0.02% of the species’ habitat in Joshua Tree National Park would remain viable after 2070 amid an unmitigated climate crisis; even in the best-case scenario, only 19% can be saved.
The law comes after the California Fish and Game Commission delayed a decision on whether to list the species under California’s Endangered Species Act and the Biden administration declined to protect the trees under the state’s Endangered Species Act.
The fruit of the Joshua tree in Joshua Tree National Park in California near the Yucca Valley. Photo: Etienne Laurent/EPA
Those petitions have met strong opposition from local officials, developers and renewable energy companies, who said the safeguards could hamper or derail plans to build large solar arrays in the desert and achieve California’s ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals. About 40% of the western Joshua tree’s range is on private property in fast-growing desert communities.
The new bill, which California Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to put into effect this week, fails to balance wildlife conservation with the needs of our residents and the business community, putting the quality of life in our deserts at risk Officials for San Bernardino County, which includes much of the plant’s range east of Los Angeles, said in a news release.
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But the law was proposed by the Newsom government as a compromise to streamline housing and renewable energy permits in exchange for developers paying abatement fees to fund wildlife conservation.
At lower elevations, a searing drought in the region is already affecting Joshua trees. From 1895 to 2016, Joshua Tree National Park’s annual rainfall fell by 39% and the average temperature rose by 3 (2°C) — resulting in fewer seedlings sprouting and surviving, according to the national park administration.
“Given the impacts they’re already feeling from climate change and other threats, there’s a lot we need to do if we’re going to keep these iconic, irreplaceable trees as part of our landscape,” Cummings said.
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/28/california-protect-joshua-trees-conservation
