Western Joshua Tree take permits increase 92% in first fiscal report from CDFW

Jef Harmatz Jef Harmatz Send an email August 21, 2026

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) issued a report on their Western Joshua Tree conservation efforts for Fiscal Year 2024-2025.

This is the second year that the CDFW has tracked data related to incidental take permits and conservation efforts. The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act requires that reports be issued presenting data from each fiscal year, and this year’s report is the first to be issued. The report is submitted to the CDFW Commission and State Legislature, and includes information about take permits, tree removals, and development of woodland areas.

In Fiscal Year 2024-25, the state issued 34,106 Western Joshua Tree (WJT) Incidental Take Permits. This is a sizable increase from 2023-2024, which saw 2,792 take permits issued. A map included as part of the report shows that a majority of those permits were issued in the hi-desert region, including the Morongo Basin and Victorville. The CDFW says that one of their achievements in the time period covered by the report is that “WJT permitting guidelines and practices [have been] streamlined…”

A total of 3,979.71 acres of WJT woodland development was permitted, with 1,210.35 of those acres in San Bernardino County.

The report details the CDFW’s first land acquisition project outside of Kern County east of Bakersfield. Funds from take permits were used to purchase and conserve a woodland area totaling 283 acres.

The report touts the CDFW’s collaborative approach to issuing take permits as part of the Hi-Desert Water District’s sewer system project in Yucca Valley.

The full report is available to the public, you can view and download it here:

2025 Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act Report to the LegislatureDownload

Jef Harmatz Jef Harmatz Send an email August 21, 2026
Jef Harmatz

Jef Harmatz

Jef Harmatz is the co-host of Z107.7’s “Morning Show with Cody and Jef” and Z107.7’s News Director. He has worked as a journalist, cartoonist, chef, and delivery driver. He is known nationally for his writing and comics in publications like TimeOut, Popula, Roadtrippers, Solrad and Spiralbound, and for his album covers for Third Eye Blind and Sir Sly. He is known locally for his pop-up barbecue restaurant Hot Dog Panic. He remains unknown in the field of beekeeping, because he is too afraid of being stung to try it. When not on the radio, he draws comics and self-publishes little books. He lives with his partner and his dog Sunday in Yucca Valley, where he cooks them both elaborate meals.