Press Releases

New peer-reviewed published research calls into question the environmental science underpinning the Cadiz Inc. groundwater extraction project in the Mojave Desert.

A new report indicates that the national monument designations in San Bernardino County are attracting more visitors and stand to generate greater turnover and job opportunities. The report looks at Sand to Snow, Mojave Trails and Castle Mountains national monuments. Located next to Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve, these national monuments help piece together federally protected public lands and offer further public access and recreational opportunities.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust has acquired 400 acres within the Mojave National Preserve. The purchase helps piece together public land within the preserve – the third largest national park unit in the lower 48 states. The acquisition of three separate parcels from a private family trust helps protect the integrity of the ecosystem, enhancing National Park Service management of natural resources. It also secures public access to public land, including sportsmen as Mojave National Preserve allows hunting.

Mojave Desert Land Trust has acquired 80 acres of pristine desert inside Joshua Tree National Park. The property helps piece together public land within the Park. At an elevation of around 3,600 feet, the land has panoramic views and has been relatively untouched. The owner’s wish was for the property to eventually become public land.

New travel guides have been launched that piece together the Mojave Desert’s national and state parks, and national monuments. The guides will help those seeking adventure, solitude and cultural experiences in the desert. With record numbers of visitors to Joshua Tree National Park resulting in long waits and full campgrounds, there is even more incentive to get out into the surrounding diverse and rich landscapes. The new Adventure Kits launched by the Mojave Desert Land Trust aim to provide visitors with all the knowledge they need in the vast terrain stretching from Death Valley to Anza Borrego State Park.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) has become an official fundraising friends’ group for Joshua Tree National Park. A Philanthropic Partnership Agreement was signed that enables MDLT to raise funds and/or in-kind goods and services to support greater public understanding, conservation, and enjoyment of the Park’s resources and values. MDLT and the Park already have a Memorandum of Understanding focused on collaborative efforts to acquire private land within and adjacent to the Park.

Mojave Desert Land Trust issues the following statement in response to a token rebuttal by Cadiz Inc to scientific research into the impact of groundwater pumping in Mojave Trails National Monument. This research was published in the prestigious scientific journal Environmental Forensics, following rigorous scrutiny, including blind peer-review. The article, “Understanding the source of water for selected springs within Mojave Trails National Monument, California”, shows that the largest spring in the southeastern Mojave Desert would be threatened by the Cadiz Inc proposal to pump desert groundwater.

Peer-reviewed findings published in The Journal of Environmental Forensics show that the largest spring in the southeastern Mojave Desert would be threatened by the Cadiz Inc proposal to pump desert groundwater. The first comprehensive chemical analysis of spring sources in the Southeastern Mojave Desert highlights factual flaws and omissions in the environmental science behind the Cadiz Inc project.

Rich Weideman has been appointed the Interim Executive Director of the Mojave Desert Land Trust. Weideman has spent 33 years in the National Park Service (NPS), most recently as Assistant Director of Partnerships and Civic Engagement in Washington D.C. Weideman replaces Danielle Segura, who has left to take up the position of Vice President, Director of Development at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.