Twelve years after being founded, the Mojave Desert Land Trust, or MDLT, has stepped into a leading role in California desert conservation. The nonprofit’s recent annual report illustrates the scale of its acquisition and stewardship work, the speed at which its plant conservation program is growing, and its dedication to sound policy and public engagement. Here’s reporter Mike Lipsitz with some of the details…
The report coincides with several conservation milestones: the Land Trust is on track to reach 80,000 acres of acquired and preserved land across the Mojave Desert in the coming months. MDLT’s seed bank, created in 2016, has just logged its 500th collection of seeds; and MDLT has donated more tracts of land to the National Park Service than any other nonprofit in the nation since 2006.
Stewardship continued to play a vital role in restoring land health. During the past year, MDLT worked with volunteers and partners to remove seven tons of solid and hazardous waste from the Mojave National Preserve, Mojave Trails National Monument, and its Morongo Basin community lands. Total revenue and support for MDLT in 2018 exceeded $5.2 million.
