An AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team is serving with members of the Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) from Jan. 12 to March 15 in an effort to engage local communities in conserving and restoring the environment. The team, known as Gold Two, is made up of 13 members ranging in age from 18 to 24.

The California desert is an icon in the cultural arts community. It teaches us about form and shape along sand dune crests, shows us inspiring colors in sunrise and sunset, and gives a sense of freedom in its expansive landscapes. Artists have long been central to sharing and interpreting the experience of landscapes like this desert while leading efforts to protect them. Portraying this beauty helped spur the movement to create the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park system, and later, the passage of the Antiquities Act in 1906.

After a decade of effort, the Mojave Desert Land Trust has purchased 690 acres in Joshua Tree, the nonprofit announced Wednesday. The Quail Wash parcel, next to the west entrance of Joshua Tree National Park, was part of Joshua Tree National Monument when it was created by President Roosevelt in 1936, but it was removed by Congress for mining activity in 1950...

In a long-sought victory, a group of preservationists has completed the acquisition of a 690-acre land parcel west of the western entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. Ten years in the making, the Joshua Tree-based Mojave Desert Land Trust — which since 2006 has purchased 54,000 acres of desert land for protection — plans to restore the property, called Quail Wash, and to donate the parcel to the national park. The property has important biological significance and is in a critical part of the wildlife linkage corridor, said Danielle Segura, MDLT executive director.

These Mojave Desert monuments encompass what people who live in and visit the desert, love and appreciate about the area. These are places of inspiration for artists, explorers, and historians. Protecting these lands means that visitors will forever have the opportunity to wander under the cottonwoods at Big Morongo or hike an undisturbed section of the Pacific Crest Trail in Whitewater Canyon. And future generations will have a chance to experience the rocky peaks in the Old Woman Mountains, the sweeping vistas at Cadiz Dunes, and view the distant horizon along the iconic Route 66.

Presidents dating back to Theodore Roosevelt have used the 1906 Antiquities Act to protect "objects of historic or scientific interest." Critics say the act has been abused by presidents of both parties to unreasonably deny the public the right to use the land in a multitude of ways. Feinstein was encouraged to seek presidential action by conservation groups including The Wildlands Conservancy, the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Mojave Desert Lands Trust and Friends of the Desert Mountains.