A lot has changed in the Morongo Basin over the past 15 years. Joshua Tree National Park’s annual visitation has increased from around 1.2 million people in 2006 to nearly 3 million people in 2019. From 2010 to 2020, the populations of Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms grew by 5% and 12%, respectively. And the…
Interns with the Mojave Desert Land Trust’s Women in Science Discovering Our Mojave (WISDOM) program recently completed a year-long study measuring the sky’s brightness at 16 locations in the monument. Collecting the data was the first step as part of the Bureau of Land Management’s efforts to receive Dark Sky Sanctuary status for the monument….
Mojave Trails National Monument might qualify as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, according to new data released Tuesday by the Mojave Desert Land Trust. The 1.6 million acre monument borders Joshua Tree National Park to the south, and partially surrounds the Mojave National Preserve. Interns with the Mojave Desert Land Trust’s Women in Science Discovering…
JOSHUA TREE — High school students from a west Los Angeles school recently recorded plant growth in land that burned in an arson fire as recovery efforts begin. “We’re using a tough situation hoping to contribute to the greater good of the desert,” said Cody Hanford, co-executive director of the Mojave Desert Land Trust. In…
The California desert is a strange and beautiful place. Working to keep it that way is the Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT), which recently reached a milestone of conserving 100,000 acres since its founding 15 years ago. Much of the group’s work involves acquiring and transferring land to public agencies for permanent protection, from 900…
The Mojave Desert Land Trust has announced members of a new executive team to lead the organization. Cody Hanford and Kelly Herbinson will serve as joint executive directors, sharing the overall responsibility of leading the organization, once outgoing director Geary Hund steps down on Sunday, according to the organization. Read more here.
JOSHUA TREE, Calif. — Projects to protect the Mojave and Colorado Deserts stand to get a lot more funding, as Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill creating the California Desert Conservation Program. The program is not yet funded, but the money should come with the 2022 budget cycle. Cody Hanford, deputy executive director of the Mojave Desert…
Los Angeles Times No you aren’t seeing things. Some Southern California deserts are blooming right now. Yellow carpets of native chinchweed popped in parts of the Mojave Desert in late August. “The late summer bloom is due to some areas receiving considerable rain in July and August,” Madena Asbell, director of plant conservation at the Mojave…
Hi-Desert Star MORONGO VALLEY — With wildfires raging throughout California, wildlife is coming down from the mountains and flocking to the Morongo Basin. In Morongo Valley, locals say they are seeing unprecedented numbers of deer, sheep, bears and other animals and they are urging visitors to the valley to keep an eye out for the…
How can bighorn sheep, bears, mountain lions and other animals safely cross the increasingly busy Highway 62 in the Morongo Valley? The Mojave Desert Land Trust is hoping to construct a wildlife crossing over the road and last week announced it had acquired 43 acres near the roadway. With the acquisition, the land trust reported that it…
