As you know, for the past two years, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has been considering whether to list the Western Joshua Tree as a threatened or endangered species. According to independent studies done by the State's Department of Fish and Wildlife and a private study commissioned by CalCIMA, the western Joshua Tree is not in danger of extinction and won't be for the foreseeable future. Overall, the data supports an understanding that the western Joshua tree is currently abundant and widespread. Accordingly, it likely has a high capacity to withstand or recover from stochastic (e.g., random) disturbance events. However, the Fish and Wildlife Commission may still choose to list the tree as threatened due to public outcry. Listing the Western Joshua Tree as a threatened species would be severely limiting land use options and development, which we don't need during a housing crisis. The Fish and Game Commission will make the final determination at the June meeting.
Click the link below or copy/paste it into the address field of your browser to fill out your information and respond to this call for action and send a pre-written message into the DFW, encouraging the commissioners to follow the science and the conclusions of the studies. Please visit the link below to automatically send your message!
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