Desert X puts Coachella Valley on the art world map (Desert Sun)
Mike Vensel and a car full of L.A. friends were driving through a typical Rancho Mirage suburban neighborhood. They headed east on Gerald Ford Drive, named after the late president who made the city his part-time home, turned left before The Versailles, an exclusive gated community, and zig-zagged past other upscale developments before somehow finding themselves on a dirt road.
Veterans partner with conservation groups (Victorville Daily Press)
The California Conservation Corps’ Veterans Conservation Corps joined the Conservation Lands Foundation, Mojave Desert Land Trust and Bureau of Land Management for clean-up and restoration in the Sand to Snow National Monument on Monday.
Nonprofit land trust turns over 3,000 acres to Mojave National Preserve (LA Times)
A nonprofit group has donated more than 3,000 acres of desert land to the Mojave National Preserve. The Mojave Desert Land Trust announced Wednesday that it had handed over ecologically and historically significant land to the park. The 110 parcels already are surrounded by the national preserve. They include juniper and yucca stands and a century-old homestead site.
Joshua trees meet very different fates in California, Arizona (Las Vegas Review Journal)
It’s been an up-and-down month for Joshua trees in the region. At Mojave National Preserve in California, thousands of the iconic desert plants recently won permanent federal protection, thanks to a land transfer that added 3,100 acres to the park 90 miles southwest of Las Vegas.
MDLT and Americorps ‘Free the Trees’ (Victorville Daily Press)
The Mojave Desert Land Trust recently conducted a Free the Trees ceremony to celebrate the acquisition of the newly designated Bobcat Valley in Joshua Tree. Bobcat Valley comprises five land parcels totaling 50 acres and serves as a crucial wildlife linkage corridor for bobcats. The property also houses rich Joshua Tree forests and desert tortoise habitats.
Land trust buys property slated for energy farm (Hi-Desert Star)
The Mojave Desert Land Trust held a “Free the Trees” ceremony at its newly acquired property, Bobcat Valley in Joshua Tree, Tuesday morning. When the land trust bought the property, the Joshua trees on site were tied with red ribbons to mark them for removal. To celebrate the acquisition and protection of Bobcat Valley, the Mojave Desert Land Trust and their team of AmeriCorps volunteers cut the ribbons to “free the trees.”