Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan continued to August; changes include reducing burden on single-family properties

The presentation began with California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham urging the commission to approve the latest draft of the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan. The plan was first presented in February of 2025 with updates in April and a final draft expected to be delivered by the end of June. The final draft presented yesterday is a 305 page document that provides guidelines and best practices for conserving the tree, The document is separate from the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act, which is the piece of legislation that sets fees for the take permits required when doing ground disturbing construction on land that contains Western Joshua Trees. CDFW Director Chuck Bonham wanted to make one thing very clear about the plan as it stood on Thursday: Director Bonham: "You could approve this plan today. It's ready. But I also acknowledge you have input which says 'more time please.'" California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham The plan document itself is iterative, meaning that if the California Fish and Game Commission accepts the plan, it would still be able to be worked on as conservation plans move forward. Bonham reminded the commission that a further delay into the next meeting in August could put them in the position of working on amendments to a plan that hasn't even been implemented yet. Director Bonham: "Even more important to all involved is a different deadline coming at you. By the time you're in 2026, (you will) be hosting a public discussion on sufficiency and fees. Holy cow. If you think people are interested in the conservation plan, they're definitely going to be interested in that topic." The potential fees for single family homeowners has become one of the biggest topics during public comment at the Fish and Game Commission meetings, as well as municipal meetings in the Town of Yucca Valley where most property owners either have Western Joshua Trees on their property or they are close enough for them to count in the auditing procedures laid out by the CDFW. Director Bonham talked about changes to the regulatory guidelines that could help reduce or even eliminate those fees. Director Bonham: "So we've done at least two things at the department that I'm not sure has been broadly described to single-family property owners who may (want) to add on to their home or do some other work. First, in the revised relocation guidelines, the department has determined that projects involving a single family residence will not be required to relocate any Western Joshua Tree. "The department is on the brink of asking a very qualified entity to produce an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the department under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) which would then be available for any single-family resident applicant to utilize, which means we could take off the table any CEQA costs for an individual single-family resident homeowner." Senior Environmental Specialist Drew Kaiser then presented the major changes to the Western Joshua tree conservation plan since the last iteration. One of the most notable changes is that the 50-foot distance buffer around a Western Joshua tree has been eliminated from the plan, with Kaiser noting that the decision was based on evolving conversations and ongoing research. California Department of Fish and Wildlife Senior Environmental Specialist Drew Kaiser reviews topics from public comments. Despite the CDFW's efforts to have the plan approved at Thursday's meeting, public comment was largely in favor of delaying the approval until more details could be worked out for all interested parties. There were comments from solar construction and commercial interests, but the majority of comments at Thursday's meeting still addressed the impact the plan could have on single-family property owners who already have homes constructed around the Western Joshua Tree. A new deadline date of July 10th has been set for public comment to be submitted on the final draft of the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan, with the possibility of the document being accepted at another meeting scheduled for August. You can see the entire Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan at the PDF below, or visit the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's website. Vol 1_WJTCP-compressedDownload