Around one million people live within California’s desert landscapes. Our communities rely on healthy ecosystems to provide clean air and water, regulate climate, support physical and mental health, and create strong rural economies.  

As the only organization dedicated to landscape-scale conservation of the entire California desert region, the Mojave Desert Land Trust plays a unique role in protecting our ecosystems. But the effects of climate change and habitat loss on our community and our wildlife continue to intensify, evident by extreme fires, drought, and severe declines in birds, desert tortoises, and numerous other species. Our mission to protect our home is more urgent than ever. We are focused and driven to increase our impact knowing what’s at stake: our land, our wildlife, our families, and our future.  

Speaking of impact, I am proud to show you how we affected real change in 2024. Together, we made a difference by saving and stewarding habitat and supporting the native plants at the heart of our ecosystems. We acquired over 6,000 acres, helping us surpass a new milestone of 125,000 acres protected since 2006. A total of 1,200 acres of privately-owned parcels within Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave Trails National Monument were restored and transferred back to our federal partners. Our staff grew over 11,000 native plants for restoration and drought-tolerant landscaping and added another 128 seed collections to the Mojave Desert Seed Bank.  

These are truly collective conservation successes. Over the course of the year, volunteers contributed an astonishing 3,413 hours to our efforts.  Local residents banded together to protect our flagship preserves. At the 595-acre Rock Springs Ranch near Apple Valley, locals trained to become community scientists and documented important changes to the flora and fauna so we can measure clear progress in protecting this preserve.  

This impactful work with the community also took on broader collaborative shifts this year. MDLT led the creation of the Joshua Tree Conservation Coalition, a powerful new alliance tackling threats to this declining keystone species. We served in a multi-agency partnership for the newly designated Mojave Desert Sentinel Landscape, shaping strategies to restore ecosystem function across the region. And five years of serving alongside Tribal and conservation partners successfully culminated in the designation of Chuckwalla National Monument, 624,000 acres of protected lands offering a beacon of hope for the future stability of one of North America’s biodiversity strongholds.  

We relish these opportunities to work shoulder-to-shoulder with you and our wider community in this critical undertaking. We hope you enjoy this look back at some of our successes in 2024. 

Thank you for your support,

Kelly Herbinson
Executive Director