Western Joshua Tree Law May Slow Development In Desert
- Josh Stephens
- Aug 11, 2024
- 6 min read
In parts of California’s Mojave Desert, Joshua trees stretch seemingly to the horizon, bringing greenery and whimsy to an otherwise desolate landscape. The habitat of the western Joshua tree a wide swath of inland southern California, from its namesake National Park all the way to the northern reaches of the Owens Valley.
It is anything but rare.
And yet, wildfire, development, and, most of all, climate change are already threatening the next generation of Joshua trees. Surveys indicate that young trees are taking root in only 50% of the current range; in a worst-case scenario, the tree could go nearly extinct.
This invisible precocity led to the Joshua tree’s consideration for endangered status under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) in 2019 and its protection as a candidate species in 2020. Several years of discussion ensued. When the Fish and Game Commission voted on its official listing in 2022, the commission deadlocked, on a 2-2 vote.
In 2023, at the urging of environmental groups, the legislature passed the Joshua Tree Conservation Act (SB 122) as a trailer bill. Brendan Cummings, conservation director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said there was widespread support for conservation, including from the Newsom administration, and the act was necessary to avoid undue delays.
“Absent the WJTCA, there would likely be years of litigation and uncertainty regarding the listing of the species under CESA,” said Cummings.
The act affords the western Joshua tree the equivalent of threatened status under CESA—including restrictions on residential development and a near-ban on commercial and industrial development on parcels containing Joshua trees--and is believed to be a novel approach to species conservation.
“It’s the first time a law has been passed explicitly to protect an individual climate-threatened species in California, and it may be the first anywhere in the country” said Brendan Cummings, conservation director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It provides real and meaningful protections for the species.”
The act went into effect earlier this year and is expected to remain in effect for at least 10 years. That may mean 10 years in which desert communities struggle to promote development and meet their Regional Housing Needs Allocation numbers. It is yet another instance in which conservation is complicating the state’s efforts to provide housing – especially on the urban fringes. The largest cities located within the range of the western Joshua tree include Lancaster, Palmdale, and Victorville.
