Mojave Desert Land Trust

Join us in celebrating a new 80-acre acquisition in the Old Woman Mountain Wilderness in Mojave Trails National Monument! The Old Woman Mountain Wilderness falls within a transition zone between the lower Colorado and Mojave Deserts, and currently spans 163,616 acres of bajadas and stunning mountain peaks. Here you’ll find many different habitats, dominated by creosote scrub in the lower elevations to juniper and pinyon woodland at higher elevations. The area supports all man...ner of wildlife, including desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, mule deer and bobcats in addition to the usual suspects; coyotes, roadrunner, quail, kangaroo rats and of course, snakes and lizards. Prairie falcons, kestrels, red-tailed and Cooper’s hawks, golden eagles and several species of owl have been seen soaring above in seek of prey. Thanks to our fabulous grantors and supporters, to date we have secured 158 parcels totaling 7,091 acres in the Old Woman Mountains Wilderness! See more

Tamarisk trees, also known as salt cedar, are an invasive tree introduced to the United States in the 1800s for erosion control. Today it is found in many California rivers and wetlands, particularly in arid regions. In addition to displacing native vegetation by guzzling all the groundwater, when fallen leaves decompose they increase salinity in the soil, causing native plants to struggle further. In an effort to control the unchecked spread of these trees, Tamarisk Leaf Bee...tles were introduced as a form of biocontrol. Though the insects were supposed to stay contained to certain areas, they were discovered in Afton Canyon a few years ago, and we don’t have a clear picture of what that means for the canyon’s ecosystem. Last year, MDLT’s WISDOM interns tracked these beetles in an effort to better understand their migration. Read more here: https://www.mdlt.org/why-were-tracking-beetles-in-the-moja/ #invasivespeciesweek #CaliforniaInvasiveSpecies See more

There are currently only 14 Dark Sky Sanctuaries on the planet. We hope that the data collected by MDLT’s WISDOM interns will help the Bureau of Land Management in their efforts to designate Mojave Trails National Monument as an International Dark-Sky Association sanctuary, so the plants and animals that depend on the dark night skies will continue to thrive. Thank you Travel + Leisure for featuring our WISDOM program and spreading awareness about this important ecological issue! Read more here: https://www.travelandleisure.com//california-mojave-trails Photo: Instagram user @supercam2798

We’re thrilled to report a new acquisition right here in our backyard! These 80 acres border our headquarters and share a boundary with Bureau of Land Management and other Mojave Desert Land Trust properties. Together they preserve a key part of an important habitat linkage, including all the undeveloped land on both sides of Highway 62 between Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley. This includes a mile square area directly south of Highway 62 and the recent acquisition of wildlands s...urrounding the Institute of Mentalphysics. In the future, MDLT will work with the California Department of Transportation to establish safe and enhanced ways for wildlife to cross Highway 62. There are currently two culverts under the highway, but they only provide limited passage for wildlife. This particular wildlife thoroughfare leads right up to Joshua Tree National Park! Habitat linkages help maintain genetic variation in wildlife populations, and provide a means for plants and animals to migrate in response to climate change or disperse and repopulate areas following a catastrophic event. MDLT strives to ensure that our protected public lands are interconnected by habitat linkages so our delicate desert ecosystem can thrive in the long-term. We appreciate your support of these conservation efforts! See more

This year, we can elect candidates who share our love for protecting #CaliforniaDesert #publiclands. #myfuturemyvote

We are excited to share our 2019 Annual Report with you. One of our acquisition highlights was Rock Springs Ranch. This 595-acre property consists of pristine desert with panoramic views, riparian areas, stunning boulders, and important flora and fauna. In all, MDLT acquired 5,403 acres in 2019, over half of which were located within National Parks, Wilderness, and National Monuments adding to our grand total of nearly over 90,000 acres conserved since 2006. Acquiring impo...rtant habitat is just the first step in our conservation work. Our Land Stewardship team actively manages thousands of acres across the California desert. In 2019, that work included removing 13 tons of solid waste, carrying out site monitoring and inspections, and launching a popular new volunteer stewardship program. Deepening our conservation mission, our native plant nursery grew over 36,000 plants for a restoration project in Wind Wolves Preserve, and hosted regular plant sales to meet the ever-increasing demand in the community for native plants. Volunteers helped us add more than 200 new collections to the Mojave Desert Seed Bank and create the infrastructure for our new Desert Discovery Garden. Volunteers are always a big part of our success, with dedicated supporters devoting over 10,000 hours to MDLT programs in 2019. Once again, an AmeriCorps NCCC Pacific Region team returned to help with our conservation work, providing invaluable resources in desert clean-ups and installing new informational signage and kiosks on the Chuckwalla Bench. This year also marked the start of the pioneering Women in Science Discovering our Mojave (WISDOM) internship program in collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management. You can read more in our annual report. Thank you for your support for our work to protect the desert's dark night skies, clean air and water, and abundant flora and fauna. https://www.mdlt.org//2019-Annual-Report-for-the-Mojave-De

Today is your last chance to donate to Miles for MDLT... meet Stephanie, one of our fundraisers. She was one of the first to jump right in to the #MilesforMDLT campaign, and has so far raised over $1000 for us! Her story about starting her career and family in Joshua Tree reminds us of why so many people love this area. Stephanie’s home looks out over protected land and that view will always be there for the enjoyment of her son, Jasper. She joined this campaign to support the future preservation of this beautiful desert. Thanks to supporters like Stephanie we are so close to our goal of raising $20,000! Won't you chip in? Find out how, and to read about all of our fundraisers' hiking adventures: https://miles4.mdlt.org Thank you for all that you do!

This year, we can elect candidates who share our love for protecting public lands. Make sure your ballot is postmarked by November 3 or drop it off at a designated ballot drop box. For instructions on how to vote by mail, visit https://www.sos.ca.gov/electio/voter-registration/vote-mail #MyFutureMyVote #PublicLands #VoteEarly

Autumn is speeding by and there is only one week left to donate or clock your Miles for MDLT! Diane Kuntz is one of our Miles For MDLT fundraisers, and she's so close to her goal of raising $250! She says: "Hello all, another two weeks just blew by. Other than one beautiful five mile hike at BlackRock Camp Ground area and a short hike near Barker Dam, I was only able to do short walks with Kilo. I averaged about 20 miles a week. I did spot about five or six rams resting in th...e park on Wednesday morning! I will consider that a birthday gift from above. It is my first close ram sighting. Please consider making a birthday gift donation to support me as I hike #MilesForMDLT (even $20 helps). I’m so close to meeting my goal of raising $250. Support me and MDLT by investing in dark night skies, clean air and water, and an abundance of native plants and animals for future generations to enjoy. Please visit my page at Miles4.mdlt.org/diane-kuntz to to learn more!"

Temperatures are forecasted to be in the upper 30’s in some parts of the Morongo Basin on Sunday and Monday nights. If you recently bought plants at our plant sale, you may be wondering if you need to protect your plants. The first thing to know is that you have little to worry about unless you expect it to freeze in your area. In this case, we recommend bringing container plants indoors for the night. If you have already planted them in the ground, then we recommend wrappin...g them with newspaper or lightweight fabric, such as an old bedsheet. Be sure to fully enclose the plant so that the heat radiating from the ground is trapped around the plant. Your plants need sunlight, so be sure to remove the blanket the next day once temperatures are above freezing. For most plants to be damaged by cold, temperatures need to remain at 28 degrees F or below for 5 hours. Young plants and seedlings are generally more sensitive and can be damaged when temps drop to 32-33 degrees F. If it’s not going to freeze in your area, temperatures will still be cold enough to induce dormancy in winter-deciduous plants. These include: desert willow, desert olive, honey mesquite and screwbean mesquite, and catclaw acacia, which will drop their leaves; and milkweed, coyote melon, and salt heliotrope, which will die back. This is normal. Plants native to the low desert, such as palo verde, jojoba, and smoke tree, can be sensitive to cold temperatures, so if you are planting these in the high desert, we recommend protecting new plantings the first winter. Make sure your plants are hydrated by watering the day before temperatures are expected to drop. Winter watering is important not only to protect roots from freezing, but also for getting new plants established. We recommend watering new plants deeply once a week through the first fall and winter. See our planting guide for more information on getting new plants established. (https://www.mdlt.org/wp-cont//2018/09/Plant-Guide-2017.pdf) Fall and winter are the best times to plant native plants since temperatures are relatively mild and rain is (hopefully) more abundant. Once your native plants are establishedand provided they are native to your particular areathey should be able to tolerate the temperature extremes and brief periods of drought with no problem.

2020 has been hectic - to say the least. But our #CaliforniaDesert Conservation Lands have brought us respite. That’s why we #vote: to protect our #publiclands into the future. Track when your ballot is received and counted by signing up for alerts here: WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov #VoteEarly #MyFutureMyVote

For many wildlife, crossing the busy road leading to the west entrance of Joshua Tree National Park can be fatal. So, some locals decided it was time to take action. Linda Doyle, Miriam Seger and Geary Hund worked closely with San Bernardino County’s Traffic Division to identify where the most dangerous spots were on Quail Springs Road in Joshua Tree. Then a cautionary sign was created and approved by the department. As the sign isn’t a regulatory sign, it is organized throug...h the San Bernardino County’s Traffic Division. Congratulations to all and we thank you for your hard work for the preservation of wildlife! Pictured (L-R): Brendon Biggs (San Bernardino County Public Works Director), Linda Doyle (local resident), Miriam Seger (local resident), Grant Mann (San Bernardino County Traffic Division Engineering Manager), Geary Hund (MDLT Executive Director) If you live in an area where wildlife is impacted by traffic and you are inspired to do the same, contact Grant Mann at [email protected]. County of San Bernardino See more