Mojave Desert Land Trust held a rally to educate and inspire those willing to take action before the Fish and Game Commission makes its final decision on the fate of the western Joshua tree.. Speaker Brandon Cummings of the Center for Biological Diversity laid out the science behind the petition to grant the western Joshua tree permanent threatened species status under California’s Endangered Species Act. It had protected status over the past eighteen months while the Department of Fish and Wildlife conducted a study to give their recommendation to California’s Fish and Game Commission. They concluded the western Joshua tree did not warrant permanent protected status at this time.
The Commission is not required to accept the recommendation, and today’s rally was intended to get citizens involved in supporting the listing of the western Joshua tree.
As firefighters dealt with the Elk fire in Yucca Valley. Brendan Cummings, the original petitioner for the listing argued worsening climate change and drought are already putting an incredible strain on the species and making threats like wildfire a much bigger problem.
Attendees were encouraged to sign MDLT’s petitions or for more impact send a personal comment letter by June 2nd and attend the June 15th meeting either virtually or in person.
To join the California Fish and Game Commission meeting on June 15 go to: https://fgc.ca.gov/Meetings/2022
For more information go to https://www.mdlt.org/
