JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK – The Joshua Tree is in peril but there’s a push to protect it. The iconic Southern Californian plant could lose 90% of its range by 2100, according to an estimate by the Center for Biological Diversity. That’s a problem because it reproduces slowly and only migrates a couple hundred yards each generation.
There’s a petition to add protections under the California Endangered Species Act as it faces threats including development, wildfire, warmer temperatures, drier climates and invasive species. The California Fish and Game Commission is set to make a decision on its status in February.
