Hi-Desert Star: Biologists join rally for Joshua trees

As the Elk Fire raged in Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree National Park, local environmental activists gathered Thursday, May 26, for a rally to support protections for the western Joshua Tree, a species that biologists say is threatened by rising temperatures, development and fires. The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the state Fish and Game Commission in 2019 requesting that California list the western Joshua tree as a threatened species. Last month, the Department of Fish and Wildlife released a review recommending that the Fish and Game Commission not go through with listing the species as threatened, primarily because they cannot determine with current information how climate change will affect the species. Read more here.