Mojave National Preserve shows evidence of rebound, says local Ecologist

Local Plant expert and Ecologist Christina Sanchez was the guest on last Friday’s (September 15) Z107.7 Up Close Show. Host Gary Daigneault asked Sanchez about the recent devastation to the Mojave National Preserve caused by August’s York Fire, which burned over 93,000 acres in the northern portion of the preserve. Sanchez said that she was recently able to visit the preserve for the first time since the fire, saying:

“I was able to see the burn scar, which is pretty incredible. Witnessing some of the flora that’s coming back, it’s been interesting. With a lot of the Joshua Trees out there, the Mojave Yuccas, the Banana Yucca, a lot of the shrubs may come back, a lot of them can regenerate from the root if it wasn’t badly burned. We’ve been seeing that with the Cima Dome fire, a lot of the Joshua Trees and banana Yuccas have been coming back, but a lot of them won’t come back, if the fire was too hot and burned the root zone.”

Sanchez discussed the impact that recent rainfall from Tropical Storm Hilary had on the area, saying

“To see the impacts of what the flood had done, but also to see that plants were regenerating, they were leafing out, it was just beautiful.”

You can hear the full interview below – and subscribe to all of Z107.7’s podcasts here.