Home Care In Joshua Tree, CA

Twentynine Palms, Calif. — Desert tortoise burrows dot Cindy Bernard’s property in Indian Cove, a sprawling residential neighborhood just outside Joshua Tree National Park.

Some are so well known by local humans that they have names. There’s Big Boy, a hefty male who likes to roam. And Squiggles, a female who leaves wavy tracks in the sand.

But when consultants hired by developers seeking to build a luxury eco-resort next to Bernard’s 40 acres conducted a field survey, they said they found no members of the species — which is listed as endangered by the state of California. And the city of Twentynine Palms, where the land is located, concluded the project did not require a full environmental impact report under California law.

“The same noise and light issues that might disrupt our ability to see the night sky or enjoy the quiet will also affect the wildlife here,” Bernard said on a recent afternoon as she pointed out a crescent-shaped hole in the ground from which she saw a tortoise emerge just days before. “We’re not against this project. We’re against it here.”

The proposed Ofland Twentynine Palms hotel is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and community group Indian Cove Neighbors, which Bernard co-founded. The groups allege Twentynine Palms failed to adequately assess and mitigate potential environmental harms including traffic, water, air quality and wildlife impacts.

They note that the 152-acre project site — an undeveloped swath of creosote scrub about a half-mile from the national park boundary — may support at least 10 plant and 17 animal species that are either listed as threatened or endangered or recognized as species of concern, including loggerhead shrikes, golden eagles, burrowing owls and, of course, desert tortoises such as Big Boy and Squiggles.

The project is also slated for the center of a wildlife corridor that enables bobcats, badgers and dozens of other species to move between the national park and large tracts of undeveloped land, yet documents approved by the city contain only a cursory analysis of the potential impacts on wildlife movement, states the lawsuit filed Wednesday in San Bernardino County Superior Court. The lawsuit requests the court to direct Twentynine Palms to rescind its approval of the project.

“You’re placing a luxury glamping resort right in the middle of a residential area so there are going to be impacts on people’s lives and on the species that are coming through,” said Meredith Stevenson, staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. ”But the city just completely overlooked so many impacts and then found they weren’t significant because they weren’t even disclosed or assessed.”

Stone James, the city manager of Twentynine Palms who is also an Indian Cove resident, declined to comment on the lawsuit. But he passionately defended the project, saying it will provide much-needed jobs and revenue to an area where many struggle to eat. (The area has 15.6% poverty rate compared with 12% in the state as a whole, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey.)

James said that state environmental laws intended to help communities evaluate project impacts are now at times weaponized to crush development. And he called complaints that the city should have required an environmental impact report “a ruse,” saying the project simply did not meet the requirements established by the state.

“We have a project that’s consistent with the core identity of our community, a conservation-based project that would allow people to come in[to] our community in a respectful manner and enjoy the beauty of Twentynine Palms, enjoy the beauty of the national park, visit the artists and people who are starting businesses in our downtown, and we’re going to say no to that?” he said. “There are many levels to this but what’s so disheartening is to see the few wealthy elite say, ‘We got ours. We don’t want anyone else to have something here.’”

Bernard pushed back on that assertion, pointing out that many members of Indian Cove Neighbors are on fixed incomes. “There are no wealthy elites in the Morongo Basin,” she said, referring to the high desert region that includes Twentynine Palms and other towns near the national park.

The project calls for 100 small cabins, two lodges, multiple pools, a stargazing area and an outdoor movie screen, plus a wastewater treatment plant that will process more than 13,000 gallons a day. It would be the largest development undertaken by Las Vegas-based Ofland Hotels, which in 2021 opened an outdoor boutique hotel in Escalante, Utah, and has been greenlighted for a second hotel near the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.

According to Luke Searcy, head of development for Ofland Hotels, the company was drawn to Twentynine Palms by its “natural beauty” and “unique culture.” The hotel buildings will be single-story to protect views and located at least 500 feet from neighboring properties to mitigate noise, he said in an email. The hotel also plans on obtaining a Dark Sky International Lodging Approval Certificate, which is above and beyond city light-pollution standards, he noted.

The company estimates that groundbreaking will take place in early 2027, Searcy said. It plans to build the hotel on 42 acres at the center of the site, with the remaining 110 acres set aside as open space. Still, the Center for Biological Diversity notes that open space will contain roads and the wastewater treatment plant, which could subject wildlife to pollution and increase the risk of getting hit by vehicles.

The city last month approved the project, adopting what’s known as a mitigated negative declaration. California environmental law allows the shorter, less detailed document to be used for projects when initial studies identify environmental impacts but changes to the plans can reduce those impacts to an acceptable level, Stevenson said.

But if substantial evidence supports a fair argument that a project may result in significant impacts, a full environmental impact report must be prepared, she said.

Stevenson argues that in the case of the Ofland project, the mitigated negative declaration did not provide enough information to understand the project impacts, and the city overlooked evidence that such impacts may be significant.

For instance, Stevenson said, the mitigated negative declaration states the project will add nearly 900 vehicle trips a day but did not take into account traffic from employees or vendors that will service an on-site restaurant.

The city did not commission a vehicle-miles-traveled analysis, even though Caltrans recommended that it do so, she said. And although the California Department of Fish and Wildlife identified numerous deficiencies in plans to mitigate impacts on plants and wildlife, the city said it would adopt only some of those recommended changes, she said.

The lawsuit also alleges that, by approving the project — and in the process, rezoning the land from residential to “tourist-commercial” and “open-space conservation,” the city violated state housing law. The move technically reduced the potential for new housing units on the land by 61. And California housing law prohibits cities from taking any action that reduces the legal limit of new housing within their borders. In other words, according to the suit, Twentynine Palms should have found a way to add 61 more potential units elsewhere within city limits, Stevenson said.

Neighbors also said the move to redesignate the land amounted to allowing developers, rather than residents, to drive the zoning process.

Local bakery owner Travis Poston said his Indian Cove home has provided a much-needed respite from the stress of running a small business. He fears that the approval of a commercial project in the residential area will set a precedent that could mark the start of a larger development push.

“If this goes in, what’s next?” he said. “The whole area is on the chopping block at this point.”

California has approved an unprecedented plan to protect the iconic Joshua tree from climate change and development.

The western Joshua tree conservation plan is a broad blueprint that compiles scientific research and traditional ecological knowledge to identify areas where the plant may thrive in a warmer future and plot out how to best protect that land. It recommends limiting development, taking steps to reduce wildfire risk like culling invasive grasses and introducing Joshua trees with genetic variations that make them more resilient to warming temperatures.

The plan was required by a state law enacted in 2023 and received final approval Wednesday at a Fish and Game Commission meeting. Proponents say the effort is groundbreaking because it seeks to conserve a species that’s abundant now but is projected to lose much of its habitat to climate change.

“This is the first time I've ever seen the Legislature and governor take this step to protect a species that may be imperiled in future,” said Isabel Baer, acting manager of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife habitat conservation planning branch. The department is tasked with carrying out and enforcing regulations set by the Fish and Game Commission and providing information to inform its decisions.

The forward-looking nature of the plan and underlying law has fueled controversy, with some local residents and politicians pointing out that the tree is currently ubiquitous in some high desert communities and questioning why it needs protecting. The law also requires property owners to obtain permits and pay fees to kill, damage or remove Joshua trees, which some fear will stifle growth and drive up the cost of living in some of the last affordable regions in Southern California.

San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe, whose district includes communities surrounding Joshua Tree National Park, said the law has already stalled housing and infrastructure projects and driven away desperately-needed jobs and investments.

"The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act is a blunt instrument that threatens the future of the Morongo Basin and other desert communities by imposing costly, inflexible regulations," Rowe said in a statement. "It was written and passed by legislators with no ties to our community, who have never seen how the Joshua tree thrives and is intricately interwoven into our developed areas."

The conservation plan has drawn criticism from a coalition of local water agencies, a residents' organization and trade groups representing realtors and farmers, who last month sent a letter to the state that called the plan “untried, and in numerous respects very confusing.” The letter demanded changes in the implementation of the plan, including exemptions or expedited permitting for projects like water distribution system repairs and maintenance.

“Doing so would help reduce the disproportionate and harmful impacts on affected communities and public agencies during this experimental effort to conserve a species based solely on climate change projections,” the letter states.

There are two distinct species of Joshua trees — referred to as "eastern" and "western" — that grow in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Mexico. The spiky succulents are revered for their cultural import, having inspired both a namesake national park and a U2 album. They have served as a guide for Indigenous people in both a physical and spiritual sense, with some tribes using their roots for basketry, their fibers for cordage and their petals and fruits for food, said Robert Przeklasa, executive director of the Native American Land Conservancy. The nonprofit was a partner in the creation of the plan, buoyed by a grant from the Wildlife Conservation Board that enabled tribal members to be compensated for their time and travel.

The trees are also a linchpin of the Mojave Desert ecosystem. Dozens of animals rely on them to survive, from ladder-backed woodpeckers who nest in their trunks to desert night lizards who sleep and forage beneath their fallen boughs.

Yet more than a third of the western species’ range in California is private land and includes some of the fastest-growing communities in the region, according to state scientists. On top of that, climate models clearly show there won’t be much suitable habitat left by the end of the century, scientists say.

“This plan is a major milestone in efforts to protect one of California’s most ecologically important and iconic species that’s facing a very, very difficult future,” said Brendan Cummings, conservation director of the Center for Biological Diversity. The nonprofit petitioned to list the western Joshua tree as threatened under the state Endangered Species Act in 2019. The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act was enacted after the Fish and Game Commission deadlocked on whether to do so.

That law requires people who perform work that kills all or part of a Joshua tree to receive a permit and to pay mitigation fees for each tree harmed. Exactly how close a person can dig to a Joshua tree before the work triggers the fee and permitting requirements is determined by CDFW staff on a case-by-case basis depending on the project, Baer said.

Those fees can add up quickly for even small projects.

Alec Mackie owns three lots in Yucca Valley and wants to build his retirement home on one of them. But now he may not be able to, because there are 88 Joshua trees on the property — and his plan would require removing eight of them.

The state reviewed his proposed construction project, said he must pay mitigation fees for 63 trees, and sent him a bill for $32,961.75. Mackie was also required to pay about $4,000 for the tree census, which covered two lots. And he must commission arborist reports and pay for contractor training, which he’s estimating will cost another $4,000.

Worse yet, Mackie said, since 55 of the trees will remain standing, he will have to pay again to dig near them if he wants to undertake another construction project in the future.

He's now considering abandoning the project.

Baer said the state has been working with towns and residents to address these types of concerns. They've already exempted single-family home projects from a previous requirement to relocate certain Joshua trees and are working on preparing an environmental impact analysis that will make the permitting process easier and less costly, she said. The plan is also expected to evolve, as the Fish and Game Commission is required to review its effectiveness at public meetings next year and every two years after that. In eight years, the commission will reconsider whether to list the Joshua tree under the state Endangered Species Act.

"Hopefully we'll have met our goals under the plan to where the species doesn't need that protection," Baer said.

The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan was formally accepted yesterday by the Fish and Game Commission.

The first of its kind document has been in front of the commission multiple times since February of this year, but it’s been continued due to the amount of public comment and concern from residents who say they’ll be primarily affected by the take permit fees that the legislative act requires.

In each of the commission meetings since February, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham has set the table regarding the plan, urging the commission to accept the document despite and because of its iterative nature. That trend continued at yesterday’s meeting.

Chuck Bonham: “Since February, the department has also been listening and we’ve been keeping track of some of the major concerns raised. We’ve been trying in each of your successive meetings to update you on progress on those topics that appear to be pretty consistent.

Bonham laid out some of the major changes to the plan since the last meeting in June, including actions in Yucca Valley regarding the sewer system that reflects some of the behind-the-scenes dealings between state and city entities.

“The Hi-Desert Water District had a groundbreaking celebration. Many had been concerned it was going to be permanently stalled, determining how that effort interfaced with Western Joshua Tree Conservation. (That’s) no longer the case… property owners will have to pay for their lateral connections… the sewer main to their house, but they won’t be asked to approve another assessment district to fund construction because the State Water Resources Control Board has approved $103 million in funding to get everybody hooked up.

The individual homeowners aren’t going to have to pay Western Joshua Tree study costs, fees, or encroachment responsibility. So we’re talking hundreds of people which had fostered into some of the organized debate in front of you being very critical that this public safety, public water project was going to get frozen or force higher costs on citizens. It’s not the case. We worked it out.”

Bonham then moved on to adjustments to the relocation guidelines, namely if you’re a single-family homeowner and your project impacts less than 10 acres of Joshua Tree habitat and requires the removal of less than 75 Joshua Trees, you won’t be on the hook for relocating any of those trees.

Stay tuned to Z107.7 later this week for a story regarding those comments, including concerns from residents about commercial projects that seemingly get to sidestep much of the criteria in the plan regarding the conservation of the Western Joshua Tree.

Until then, you can review the updated draft of the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan on the CDFW’s website, which was unanimously accepted at the conclusion of yesterday’s discussion.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA - A 2.4 magnitude quake was recorded close to Joshua Tree Friday afternoon, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

A tremor shook the area at 2:08 p.m. The earthquake's epicenter was located roughly 9 miles south of Joshua Tree and occurred at a depth of 5 miles. Seismologists first reported it as a 2.5 event, but later downgraded it to 2.4.

Did you feel it?

Those who noticed the quake are encouraged to report it via the USGS Felt Report form.

Tremors past week

Last week, there have been three earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or above centered nearby. The largest one was a 2.6 magnitude earthquake that rattled close to Thousand Palms four days ago.

The three largest earthquakes nearby in the last week:

What to know about earthquakes

Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake, the U. S. Geological Survey says. It replaces the old Richter scale. Quakes between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude are often felt but rarely cause much damage, according to Michigan Tech. Earthquakes below 2.5 magnitude are seldom felt by most people.

Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches. They can happen anywhere, but are most common in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Puerto Rico and Washington, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year. 100,000 of those can be felt, and 100 of them cause damage.

What to do during an earthquake

If an earthquake strikes, it's best to protect yourself right away. Here are tips from experts:

If you're in a car: Pull over and stop. Set your parking brake.

If you're in bed: Turn face-down and cover your head with a pillow.

If you're outdoors: Stay away from buildings. Don't go inside.

If you're inside: Stay and don't run outdoors. Stay away from doorways.

The best way to protect yourself during an earthquake is to drop, cover and hold on, officials say. "Wherever you are, drop down to your hands and knees and hold onto something sturdy," officials say. "If you're using a wheelchair or walker with a seat, make sure your wheels are locked and remain seated until the shaking stops." Be sure to cover your head and neck with your arms, and crawl under a sturdy table if possible. If no shelter is available, crawl to an interior wall away from windows. Once under a table, officials say you should hold on with one hand and be ready to move with it.

"There can be serious hazards after an earthquake, such as damage to the building, leaking gas and water lines, or downed power lines," officials say. "Expect aftershocks to follow the main shock of an earthquake. Be ready to Drop, Cover, and Hold On if you feel an aftershock."

Source: The U.S. Geological Survey

This article was generated by the CA Earthquake Bot, software that analyzes structured information, such as data, and applies it to articles based on templates created by journalists in the newsroom. No human journalist was harmed in this experiment. You can report errors or bugs to [email protected].

Joshua trees are defining features of the Mojave Desert. Once woven into baskets and sandals by the Cahuilla, Joshua trees thrive in the extremely arid conditions of the High Desert.

At 20,053 square miles, San Bernardino County is home to numerous dense Joshua tree stands.

In 2020, 119 Joshua trees were surveyed from one 360-acre site in Victorville alone. Adelanto, Hesperia, Victorville and Phelan have the spiked tree in their official city logos, and it's not unusual to see friends' and neighbors' landscaped pomegranate or apricot trees growing alongside naturally growing Joshua trees.

The ever-changing protection of the Joshua tree can be hard to keep up with, especially for High Desert residents with the yucca-style tree on their property. While they technically aren't endangered, strict restrictions are still enforced for Joshua tree handling, which will be addressed at an upcoming Hesperia workshop.

Joshua trees in the High Desert

The High Desert tree is well protected in the county’s 1.5 million-acre Mojave National Preserve, 800,000-acre Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave Trails National Monument, Sand to Snow National Monument, Castle Mountains National Monument and other areas.

Joshua trees are also nationally protected under the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act (WJTCA), which was passed in July 2023. As a result, homeowners with dying or in-the-way Joshua trees cannot simply remove or relocate the plant without the necessary permits.

Assemblymember Juan Carrillo understands this confusion and, together with the city of Hesperia and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, he has organized a Joshua tree workshop at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, June 20 at Hesperia City Hall.

The workshop will provide information on the regulations and protections in place for Joshua trees in the Mojave River Valley amid ever-changing legislation regarding their protected status.

Ever-changing protections for the Western Joshua tree

Reviews conducted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service revealed that the iconic trees are not facing endangerment and therefore do not require additional protection under the Endangered Species Act.

A Los Angeles federal judge ruled this "unlawful," "illegal," and "sidesteps climate science" last month, the Desert Sun reported.

According to WildEarth Guardians, an environmental organization that sued U.S. Fish and Wildlife twice to secure federal protections for the Joshua tree, Joshua trees will become extinct by the end of the century without immediate and robust action.

What will the workshop cover?

The workshop will provide information on the regulations and protections in place for Joshua trees in the Mojave River Valley including:

"Let’s make sense of the rules," the workshop flier states, "and protect your property rights while staying in compliance."

McKenna is a reporter for the Daily Press. She can be reached at [email protected].