Threatened by climate change, habitat destruction, and wildfires, the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act of 2013 aims to curtail the disappearance of the iconic desert tree. As part of the act, the State Fish and Game Commission has until June 30 to take action on a Conservation Plan. The Commission is set to discuss the draft Conservation Plan at its meeting this month.
At the next meeting of the California Fish and Game Commission, Wednesday and Thursday, February 12 and 13 in Sacramento, the commission will discuss the draft Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan.
The draft plan provides management actions needed to conserve the species. Actions include guidance to avoid and minimize impacts to western Joshua trees such as the limiting of pesticides and OHV use, land conservation and management strategies around development and take requirements,  tribal co-management objectives, research and information gathering to guide future conservation, as well as public education efforts. The draft Conservation Plan is publicly available on the Commission’s website. Comment may be made in person, via Zoom, or by telephone; however, a one-hour time limit for all public comment on the draft plan will be imposed.
The full draft plan is available here: https://fgc.ca.gov/CESA#wjt
Visit http://www.fgc.ca.gov the day of the meeting to watch or listen. To provide comment, join at the Sacramento location, via Zoom, or by phone; join via Zoom or directly at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84890694237.
