Climate change is the single greatest threat to the long-term survival of the Joshua tree, a beloved symbol of California’s high desert. But the biggest short-term obstacle is an impasse by state wildlife officials, who have been unable to agree whether to list it as threatened under the state Endangered Species Act.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is proposing a promising solution, legislation that would provide comprehensive protection for the imperiled trees at the center of a battle over competing uses of the Mojave Desert and the interconnected threats of rising temperatures, drought, development and wildfire.
The proposal would protect the trees from being wiped out by the next century while allowing for renewable energy and housing development — no matter what the California Fish and Game Commission decides. It’s a well-thought-out compromise that acknowledges both scientific and political realities, and would still allow designation as threatened, though that move seems unlikely.
