LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration on Wednesday proposed the first legislation focused on protecting a climate-threatened species while also permitting development across Southern California’s sunniest desert parcels.
The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act was prompted by the California Fish and Game Commission’s inability to act on a petition filed more than three years ago seeking to list the living symbols of the California desert as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act.
“Compromise is always painful,” said Brendan Cummings, conservation director of the Center for Biological Diversity and an author of the petition. “But at the end of the day, I’ll be happy if this bill passes.”
