Researchers help identify Mojave summer bird population
Birdwatching interns with the Women In Science Discovering Our Mojave program have closed a gap in the data about avian species in Mojave Trails National Monument.
Tracking desert tortoise in the Colorado Desert
The desert tortoise population is in steep decline — in some areas, the population has decreased by 90%. Each year the Mojave Desert Land Trust heads out to areas of critical tortoise habitat looking for signs of hope for this threatened species.
New data pinpoints dark skies above Mojave Trails National Monument
Interns with the Women In Science Discovering Our Mojave program spent a year studying night sky quality. Their findings provide a new baseline of data about the Mojave Desert.
Rediscovering the night sky after the pandemic
Nature is one thing that never ceases to amaze me. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, I often camped. So, after a year of staring at my computer screen and not being able to see more than a handful of stars each night, venturing into the vast natural beauty that is Mojave Trails National Monument and gazing up at the ink black skies and the awe-inspiring beauty of the Milky Way on our field excursions, I couldn’t help but feel the way so many of us do.… incredibly lucky and also very, very small.
Deep in the Mojave, researching the night sky
Research by WISDOM interns help us understand the quality and the importance of the Mojave Desert’s dark night skies. Last fall a cohort of three college women began monitoring the night sky quality in the western portion of Mojave Trails National Monument. Their research will help the Bureau of Land Management in its effort to work toward International Dark Sky support for the National Monument.
After the summer rains, new growth
Monsoonal rains across the Mojave Desert this summer have led to the germination of summer annuals like chinchweed and fringed amaranth in some parts of the desert. Learn how to identify native and non-native seedlings popping up in the high desert this summer.
Ay te Voy: Navigating a career in conservation
Corina Godoy felt she had a calling to work in conservation. Along the way, she didn’t see many people who looked like her. Undeterred and embracing her passion, she forged ahead, knowing that she would have to clear her own path.