MBCA's long-time Board member and science educator Pat Flanagan is part of a team of conservation advocates who have created detailed Science Briefs about carbon sequestration and biodiversity in the California desert. They will be used to educate lawmakers and state agency officials working on climate change and land use issues. Other writing team members were representatives of the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, and Mojave Desert Land Trust. 

Along with the California Native Plant Society and sixty additional organizations, MBCA has signed a letter requesting that California's proposed emergency funding related to wildfire be allocated with a focus on science-based management practices. The letter states: "We urge the Legislature to modify this proposal to ensure that appropriate levels of funding are directed into the right locations to protect communities and ecosystems and that science-based solutions are used appropriately in California’s different regions."

MBCA is among 34 organizations signing a letter in support of AB 223 which would make it illegal to harvest Dudleya plants in California without a permit or landowner permission. Poaching of this native plant has increased greatly in recent years, and it needs protection against possible extinction. The plants are commonly known as "liveforevers" in California. Learn more at the Dudleya Protection page on the California Native Plant Society website.  

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management in response to an action taken in the final days of the prior administration that would ease the path for the Cadiz Water Project. A right-of-way for the water mining scheme was granted without any public review. Read the news item by local radio KCDZ 107.7 and the press release from the Center for Biological Diversity for the latest information on this decade-long battle against draining important desert water reserves.  

We are grateful to the Mojave Desert Land Trust for assembling and publishing a comprehensive guide to the new regulations regarding Western Joshua trees.

Last fall the California Fish and Game Commission voted to advance this iconic Mojave desert plant as a candidate for threatened species status. There is a one-year assessment period when special regulations regarding their movement or destruction are in place.

Refresh yourself on the situation by reading our September 23 News Update then go to MDLT's Western Joshua Tree Regulations page for all the current requirements.

MBCA has joined 13 other conservation-minded organizations in requesting California Assemblymember James Ramos carry legislation to establish a desert conservancy program in the Wildlife Conservation Board, whose primary purpose is to approve funding for wildlife habitat protection, restoration and wildlife-oriented public access projects. With increased desert tourism and the effects of climate change, additional attention is needed for California deserts. Learn more about the request in the coalition letter sent January 12, 2021.