FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 6, 2018
Contact: Jessica Dacey, Director of Communications
Phone: (760) 820-2275
jessica@mdlt.org

Acquisitions help build wildlife buffer for Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree, CA – The Mojave Desert Land Trust has acquired nine parcels totaling 212 acres within the Morongo Basin wildlife linkage corridor. The purchases help create a buffer zone for wildlife north of Joshua Tree National Park.

The properties are mountainous Mojave Desert with Joshua tree and pinyon-juniper woodland. Native plants on the parcels include chia, hedgehog and Mojave mound cacti, apricot mallow, wishbone bush, and California buckwheat.

The parcels were acquired from a single landowner. Most border current MDLT holdings in the wildlife linkage corridor, including Section 9 and Juniper Canyon, which are connected to the National Park (see map).

MDLT has been working for many years to match the northwest boundary of the National Park to natural resources like bighorn sheep. The buffer zone borders a larger area previously outlined by the park as prime habitat. Major acquisitions like Quail Mountain (2011), the Joshua Tree Section 33 Gateway parcel (2013), Quail Wash (2015), and Juniper Canyon (2018) have helped connect those lands.To date, MDLT has acquired 6,269 acres within Morongo Basin wildlife corridors.

“These acquisitions help ensure these habitats and wildlife corridors surrounding Joshua Tree National Park are secured for future generations.” – Peter Satin, Director of Land Management, MDLT

Care and management of the parcels will include the removal of graffiti, elimination of unauthorized off-road vehicle use, control of weeds, and restoration of native plants where appropriate.

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The Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to protect and care for lands with natural, scenic, and cultural value within the Mojave Desert. For more information, visit www.mdlt.org