Joshua trees are in danger. California has a plan to save them

JOSHUA TREE, Calif. — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has released a new plan to protect the state’s iconic Joshua trees, which are threatened by wildfires, human development and climate change.

The The draft plan is 294 pages long contains calls to avoid or minimize direct and indirect impacts from overgrazing, pesticide use and unauthorized off-road traffic; relocation of trees when projects require their removal or may cause damage to them; and identifying and protecting lands where they could thrive in a future that is predicted to be drier and hotter.

“In many ways, it’s a good comprehensive plan for what we need to do if the western Joshua tree is going to survive the very, very difficult decades ahead,” said Brendan Cummings, director of conservation at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity. who in 2019 petitioned to list the western Joshua tree as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

The conservation plan is a requirement of the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act passed last year, making it the first law in the state to protect the species from the threat of climate change. The law also prohibits anyone from killing, damaging or removing a tree without a state permit.

The plan lists criteria and attributes to help identify land that should be prioritized for conservation, such as large areas of Joshua trees or areas with a high density of healthy, mature trees. It also suggests protecting regions where there is a low risk of threats such as fire, invasive species and development, and where pollinators such as moths or small mammalian seed dispersers exist. It aims to identify these lands by December 2025 and permanently protect 70% of them by 2033.

The plan also calls for land managers and wildfire response agencies to establish procedures to reduce and control wildfires that threaten species and their habitats, and to develop measures to minimize impacts from the recovery of burned areas. This includes protecting trees, replanting lost and other native species, and controlling invasives.

But as the proposed plan notes, its effectiveness and the survival of the trees will largely depend on humanity being able to limit and reduce emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases from burning coal, oil and gas that cause climate change.

Under a typical scenario, climate change could wipe out most, if not all, of the tree’s habitat, Cummings said.

“Assuming we can stick to a medium-level emissions trajectory, we have a very good chance of saving the species if everything outlined in the plan is done,” he said. “And above all that is to do everything possible to protect as many of them as possible.”

The draft plan must be approved by the California Fish and Game Commission.