The deserts of Southern California intersect with the urban sprawl of its cities in ways that are both invisible and perceived in sharp relief. A place of seemingly endless horizons seeded with possibilities, the desert has long been a retreat and an important alter ego to Los Angeles’ own tarmac-and-concrete-bounded vistas.

As the public-at-large and environmental protection representatives to the Bureau of Land Management’s Desert Advisory Council, we balance and defend the interests of the California Desert’s diverse residents while protecting the land’s sensitive natural resources. To that end, we have a duty to voice our strong opposition to the Cadiz Water Project, a stance we share with several of our fellow advisory council members.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) recently received a grant to support its work with Outdoor Outreach to bring youth to Joshua Tree National Park for a weekend of camping and outdoor education.

Gregory Michael Hernandez was surveying an unremarkable patch of desert off Highway 62 in Joshua Tree, the site of his installation for the Joshua Treenial. It didn’t seem a problem for him to dig post holes because there didn’t seem to be anything there.

The Girl Scout organization, representing 14,000 girls in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, is offering four “patches” for knowledge and service at the three newly created national monuments in the Mojave and Colorado deserts.

A group of veterans and students joined the California Wilderness Coalition, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) California, and Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) for a tour of Camp Iron Mountain, one of the best-preserved World War II training facilities from the 12-million-acre Desert Training Center (DTC) located in the Mojave Trails National Monument.