MBCA promotes the use of native plants which attract and support wildlife, conserve water and thrive in our challenging climate.

Where can desert gardeners purchase native, near-native, or drought-tolerant plants? Here is a list accurate as of February 2021 of commercial nurseries (and two non-profits) in Southern California that have been recommended to MBCA by local residents and Landscape Tour participants. 

Please contact us ([email protected]) if you have additional recommendations.

Pictured is Desert mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) in Landers. 

Also, the California Native Plant Society provides a statewide map of native plant nurseries of all kinds (with links).

California Senators

Morongo Basin Congressional Representative

A valuable source of information for waste and recycling issues is the San Bernardino County Solid Waste Management page.

Thanks also to the Town of Yucca Valley for this list of Morongo Basin recycling centers.

Morongo Basin Conservation Priorities Report 

Between 2008 and 2010, the Morongo Basin Open Space Group convened dozens of Morongo Basin residents in multiple workshops and discussion groups concerning long-term conservation and development planning in the Basin.  Its printed product was the Morongo Basin Conservation Priorities Report which represents the collected perceptions of the Open Space Group participants plus a lot of related scientific data.

There was a wide mix of community residents involved from all areas of the Basin, as well as representatives from local governments, from community, business, and conservation organizations, from the Mojave Desert Land Trust, and from Joshua Tree National Park and the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center.

Support for this project was provided by the Sonoran Institute. Both public input and conservation science were used to develop this information-rich document. The report provides a comprehensive picture of which areas of the Morongo Basin are considered by its residents to be particularly worth conserving, and which areas may be more suited to development, and why.

+ A valuable source of information for waste and recycling issues in the Morongo Basin is the San Bernardino County Solid Waste Management page.

+ The Household Hazardous Waste site for the Morongo Basin is located at 62499 Twentynine Palms Highway, just west of the Transportation/Flood Control Building. Until August 2021, the site will be open the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month from 9AM to 1PM. Beginning in August, the site will be open only the 3rd Saturday of each month. More information can be found in the County Fire Department brochure.

+ Take a look at this chart to see how long these commonly discarded items take to decompose.  

+ The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center recycles tons of materials each year, including commonly recycled materials but also the residue of its training operations.  This flyer (PDF) explains how they recycle "range residue."

+ Thanks to the Town of Yucca Valley for this list of Morongo Basin recycling centers.