Public lands are a privilege that we hi-desert dwellers get to enjoy down here on a pretty frequent basis – even if we don’t physically set foot in them day to day. The southern border of Joshua Tree and much of the basin is created by Joshua Tree National Park – nearly 800,000 acres of protected desert land. But unless you are very lucky in your land ownership, Joshua Tree National Park probably isn’t in your literal backyard.
However, other public lands are checkered throughout the Morongo Basin. Land owned and maintained by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) include Sunfair dry lake, parts of the Desert View Conservation Area (formerly known as Section 6), Homestead, Johnson and Wonder Valleys, and land adjacent to the Friendly Hills neighborhood of Joshua Tree. These plots are slated to be sold off in a Senate bill that could see over 3 million acres of public lands managed by the BLM and US Forest Service go up for sale to private interests. The Wilderness Society has put together a searchable map that shows eliglble parcels that could get sold.
The sell-off of public lands would also include over 267 million dollars in proposed cuts to the National Park Service.
Following the federal laws that are calling for these types of alarming public land sales can be difficult, but if you care about public lands there is an easy way to keep track of them. The Mojave Desert Land Trust has been releasing a policy wrap-up email at the end of most weeks, walking through some of the laws and legislation that could affect public lands.
A bipartisan public lands caucus is also forming under the premise that public lands reach across party lines.
You can sign up for the MDLT’s newsletter updates here: https://www.mdlt.org/newsletter
The Bureau of Land Management has maps of all the land they manage in California here.
Further reading:
Map shows California public lands that could be sold off under Republican budget bill (San Francisco Chronicle)
