Bringing Back Our Deserts

Bringing Back Our Deserts — page 5

Bringing Back Our Deserts — page 6 — seedlings frequently died Without better methods JTNP had no hope of rehabilitating large areas The staff started the Center for Arid Lands Restoration CALR in 1986 to research and develop new restoration techniques They found that desert plants survived better when they were started in the nursery before being transplanted into arid conditions In the 1990s JTNP began to close roads throughout the park Along with spreading invasive species roads favor traffic which becomes a threat for wildlife such as the desert tortoise Eventually more than 167 miles 269 km were retired from active use 7 To disguise closed roads from drivers who might be tempted to turn down them staff concentrated their work near intersections At some intersections they rehabilitated the desert with pitting and vertical mulching Pitting is creating holes in the soil that help trap water from infrequent desert rains Vertical mulching is a technique of burying dead plant material upright in the soil which often blends Tamarisk trees thrive in habitats around water 9

Bringing Back Our Deserts — page 7 — CENTER FOR ARID LANDS RESTORATION In the 1980s few nurseries sold mature plants from the Mojave Desert there just wasn’t a market So when JTNP wanted native specimens to restock sites around the park they had to supply their own They started with a small nursery By 1992 the nursery had expanded and included two greenhouses and the capacity to grow thousands of native plants The Center for Arid Lands Restoration CALR was the name they gave to all the plant-related programs at JTNP including the nursery restoration program and rare plant research CALR not only benefited JTNP but also came to supply state federal and private organizations with rare plants and expertise The years following Joshua Tree’s promotion to national park status have been marked by more popularity a higher worldwide profile improved scientific management of resources and more respect from senior agency officials 9 Lary Dilsaver Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of South Alabama 2015 in with the live vegetation and helps the land catch water soil and seeds JTNP started relocating roads and creating new parking lots to manage the impact of tourists leading to new areas being cleared Rather than lose plants that had been nurtured by the desert the staff learned to salvage live plants for restoration work in other areas Every year vegetation crews continue to attack invasive species while spreading and nurturing natives THE FUTURE OF JTNP Trails at JTNP lead visitors to features such as the Lost Palms Oasis and the Lost Horse Mine a remnant of mining in the park The desert may appear timeless but it has always changed with the rate of change accelerating in the last couple of hundred years The desert would not look so beautiful without years of active ongoing restoration Even as a protected area JTNP is affected by human activities The number of visitors increases every year with more than 2 5 million in 2016 8 10

Bringing Back Our Deserts — page 8 — One trail at JTNP leads to the Cholla Cactus Garden 11

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