A newly convened coalition of experts and land managers are coming together to tackle Joshua tree conservation priorities, threats from a changing climate, and increased wildfire activity. The coalition was initiated by the Mojave Desert Land Trust and funded by California’s Wildlife Conservation Board to address the need for swift action and strong partnerships in combating threats to the declining keystone species.  Read our press release.

Sign on help save this desert icon from extinction.

The iconic Joshua tree and its fragile habitat are in peril from the escalating threats of climate change, wildfires, and development. That's why MDLT is doubling down on Joshua tree conservation. This month we helped launch the Joshua Tree Conservation Coalition – a powerful alliance of federal and state agencies, nonprofits, researchers, and tribal organizations. MDLT is also ramping up scientific research efforts and maintaining our land protection projects.

All too often overlooked for their ecological value, the California’s Mojave and Colorado deserts feature stunning biodiversity, surpassing even many forest ecosystems. More than 2,400 native plant species, 72 occurring nowhere else on earth, reside in the windswept dunes, craggy mountains, life-giving waters, and other habitats that encompass the region. This landscape makes up 27% of the state’s land mass, sequesters 10% of its carbon, and is the nation’s largest relatively intact ecosystem outside of Alaska. This, however, belies the fragility of California’s deserts, which face unprecedented pressures from climate change and development. Read more here.

Native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) once roamed all over the vast Mojave and Sonoran deserts, marking the landscape with their distinctive dark brown and greenish-tan shells. Unfortunately for the species' long-term survival, human beings have been destroying their habitat in a number of ways, from paving new roads and operating military bases to constructing utility plants and grazing livestock. Read more on Salon.com.

Here in southern California, in the middle of the Mojave Desert’s vast and arid landscape, it’s just one of many natural treasures hidden from view. In long sleeves, pants, and wide-brimmed hats to guard against a harsh sun in a cloudless blue sky, a team of four led by Madena Asbell crouches in the dirt, looking for another treasure. See the Mojave Desert Seed Bank as featured on CNN.

I remember driving from the coast to Arizona as a kid and winding through the Joshua tree forests bisected by Interstate 15. My sister and I sat quietly taking them in from our respective backseat windows, surprised by the desert holding something so immense—like they had consequence. Read more here.

Humans have paid homage to tortoises and turtles as far back as we have recorded history. Many cultures have held beliefs that the world rests on a turtle’s back. If you’ve seen a desert tortoise, you can see why. We often speak of them as ambassadors, icons, or keystone species, but none of those terms capture the degree to which tortoises resemble wizards. Read more.

A new film shows how hundreds of local schoolchildren had the opportunity to learn first-hand about the Mojave Desert Seed Bank and native plants through the Desert Discovery Field Studies (DDFS) program this year. This film was made possible thanks to support from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. Watch the video to learn more about MDLT's educational programs.

In the driest desert in North America, seeps and springs percolate in the nooks and crannies where mountain ranges meet. The Mojave Desert Land Trust stewards and protects several springs that have served as vital watering holes and homelands for animals and humans alike. Explore the rich biodiversity and see which threatened species are found in this special habitat in our new storymap.

Around 10% of the state’s carbon is sequestered underground in the desert’s plants and soil. But that carbon storage capacity is under threat from an unlikely source: large-scale renewable energy projects. Some facilities are poorly sited in pristine functioning ecosystems. So, how do we quickly build up sufficient renewable energy while also conserving the land that acts as a natural carbon sink? Let's take a look.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust’s seed bank started back in 2016 and initially was focused on growing native plants in the land trust’s nursery, which in turn were used for restoration or sold to the public through the organization’s popular native plant sales as a way “to increase urban or residential habitat for pollinators or wildlife,” said Patrick Emblidge, seed program manager at the Mojave Desert Land Trust. Read more here.