Mountain lion death underscores need for desert wildlife crossings
For immediate release
April 30, 2026
Mountain lion death underscores need for desert wildlife crossings
MORONGO VALLEY–The death of a mountain lion trying to cross State Route 62 highway adds renewed urgency to a state-funded project led by the Mojave Desert Land Trust to design two wildlife crossings over this busy route in the California desert.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife determined the mountain lion was a healthy male aged approximately 18 months old. The lion was struck by a vehicle while moving from the San Bernardino Mountains side of the highway towards Joshua Tree National Park. The collision happened on the Yucca Grade near one of the proposed wildlife crossings.
The lion was part of the San Gabriel-San Bernardino Mountains population that was listed in February as a Threatened Evolutionarily Significant Unit under the California Endangered Species Act.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of another mountain lion on SR-62, this time in the vicinity of the proposed Yucca Grade wildlife crossing. The population is already at precariously low numbers. The loss of another potential breeding individual is significant. The death underscores the urgent need to complete the planning of these wildlife crossings so we can help re-establish the natural movement of animals across the land, reduce dangerous wildlife-vehicle collisions, and strengthen the health of the ecosystems that sustain us,” said Kelly Herbinson, Executive Director of the Mojave Desert Land Trust.
In February, California’s Wildlife Conservation Board awarded the Mojave Desert Land Trust with $5.5 million in grant funding for the planning phase of the wildlife crossings. “This is an investment in solutions that not only protect wildlife but support safer roads and more resilient communities that exist within, not apart from, nature,” added Herbinson.
SR-62 runs from Coachella Valley to the Arizona border. The crossings will provide safe passage for numerous wildlife species and benefit local residents by reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions. Over the last decade, traffic on the highway has increased alongside population growth in the Morongo Basin and a three-fold increase in visitation to Joshua Tree National Park. According to Pew Research, wildlife-vehicle collisions kill or injure tens of thousands of people nationally each year and millions of animals are killed. Wildlife crossings have shown that directing megafauna away from roads reduces the danger posed to people. In some instances, crossings have reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by up to 90%.
The two overpasses were designed for critical points at the Morongo and Yucca grades on SR-62 where multiple wildlife deaths were documented in one year, including mountain lion, black bear, deer, and bighorn sheep. The grant funding will bring two proposed crossing projects to 65% design completion, setting the stage for implementation. The three-year grant will include the technical studies and engineering work needed to design the crossing structures, the development of plans to encourage their use by wildlife, and the required environmental review.
Before SR-62 was built, there was seamless 95-mile-long habitat connectivity between the San Bernardino and Little San Bernardino mountain ranges, extending from the I-10 south of Joshua Tree National Park to the I-15 near the Cajon Pass. The Mojave Desert Land Trust protects land on either side of the highway in a strategic wildlife corridor that connects Joshua Tree National Park to Sand to Snow National Monument, San Gorgonio Wilderness, and San Bernardino National Forest. A 2021 Morongo Pass Wildlife Connectivity Study by Dudek and the UC Davis Road Ecology Center recommended the construction of two SR-62 overpasses at the Morongo Grade and the Yucca Grade where a safety barrier hinders wildlife movement.
Landscape connectivity is increasingly important because of climate change and habitat fragmentation from roads and development. The Morongo Grade and Yucca Grade overpasses will provide for climate change resilience by enabling flora and fauna to move up in elevation to cooler, wetter areas and north in latitude in response to a warming climate and more frequent droughts. It also improves wildlife’s ability to survive and repopulate an area after events like fires and floods.
In the last 20 years, Joshua Tree National Park has documented mountain lion activity in numerous locations, with the most frequent being in the vicinity of the proposed wildlife crossings. But the population may be suffering from the effects of inbreeding depression, with some showing physical signs such as kinked tails.
The loss of mountain lions could trigger a trophic cascade, a phenomenon where the removal of a top predator causes increases in prey populations, leading to dramatic changes in ecosystem structure. For example, in Yellowstone National Park, the removal of the wolf resulted in intense overgrazing by elk, leading to riverbank erosion and the loss of beavers.
The proposed crossings will have an earthen base and be vegetated with native plants found in the adjacent natural areas. Their gentle slopes will blend into the natural terrain, making them appear like natural habitat, which encourages wildlife to cross. Directional wildlife fencing will be placed on each side of the highway as well as measures to address light and noise from the highway.
Around 40 elected officials, businesses, institutions, and individuals sent letters of support for the crossings, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Congressman Raul Ruiz, Assemblymember Greg Wallis, Native American Land Conservancy, Marine Corps Ground Air Combat Center in 29 Palms, Morongo Valley Community Services District, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, and Joshua Tree Realty.
Over the last 20 years, the Mojave Desert Land Trust’s conservation work has helped bolster habitat and biodiversity on both sides of the highway, protecting key parcels of land.
With these crossings, the Mojave Desert Land Trust aims to champion a new statewide initiative to prioritize habitat connectivity. Under the 2024 Room to Roam Act, cities and counties must identify wildlife connectivity in land use plans and promote safe passage across fragmented habitat. This legislation complements the 2022 Safe Roads and Wildlife Protection Act which requires state agencies to remediate barriers to wildlife movement and prioritize crossings in transportation projects.
Note to editors:
Map of proposed crossing locations.
Aerial and site photos of the proposed crossing locations.
Photos of wildlife activity in the vicinity of the crossings.
Camera trap photos of mountain lions in Joshua Tree National Park.
Click below to access:
Aerial drone footage of the Yucca Grade wildlife crossing site.
Video of wildlife activity in the vicinity of the Yucca Grade crossing site.
For more information and on-site interviews, please contact:
Mojave Desert Land Trust
Jessica Graybill, Content Manager
Phone: 760-366-5440 ext 240.
Email: jgraybill@mdlt.org
The Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to protect and care for lands with natural, scenic, and cultural value within the Colorado and Mojave Deserts. Since its founding in 2006, MDLT has conserved over 130,000 acres, conveying more tracts of land to the National Park Service than any other nonprofit. MDLT established a conservation seed bank to ensure the preservation of native species and operates an onsite nursery at its Joshua Tree headquarters which has grown over 140,000 native plants for restoration projects and community landscaping. MDLT educates and advocates for the conservation of the desert, involving hundreds of volunteers in our work. For more information, visit mdlt.org.