A tidal wave of children poured out of the 15-passenger van I had driven just as I threw the vehicle into park and shut off the engine. I gave instructions to the group of eyes swirling and swiveling to capture glances of the Mojave Desert to stay put while I rechecked the first aid kit and the group’s extra water before locking the van doors. I led the group of fifth-grade and middle-schoolers onto a 3-mile looped trail and stopped in front of a group of hills made of piled granitic boulders. I shared how the igneous rock was made from cooled molten lava and how the process fits within the rock cycle. Then I turned to the Yucca plant, also known as the Joshua Tree, and sighed. 

“These are trees?” one student asked as they pointed to the plant resembling a palm tree moonlighting as a cactus.  

“No, they’re not actually trees,” I explained. “Yucca are succulents that are a part of the agave family. They’re native to the Southwestern United States, specifically California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada, and northwestern Mexico, mostly here in the Mojave Desert at a certain elevation.” 

“They look alien,” says another student.   

“They’re been around for millions of years but their habitat in the desert and mountain ranges is threatened by climate change, wildfires, and development.”  

The kids had seen all of the private property signs and all the new development on the drive to Joshua Tree National Park, and they saw the scorch marks on some trees and other plants on our previous hike in the nearby preserve. They envied the big houses perched on the hills until they learned that the ancient plants would eventually go extinct with all the building activity in the only place on the planet where these plants exist and survive.  

These trees have a lifespan anywhere from 150 to 500 years, and some scientists have estimated that the oldest living Yucca is more than 1,000 years old, and yet, they will eventually be gone before the next generation at the rate at which private investors want to chop down these remaining trees.  

“If we’re not careful, we may be the last generation to ever see these plants, and they will become a photograph in a history book and a forgotten memory,” I said as I looked at the group of devastated faces. I always gave students the truth but made sure I left a little hope before I sent them off to climb and boulder all over the surrounding rocks. “There are plenty of people working to help stop the development and slow down the rates of wildfire and climate change, though, and you can also help by practicing the Leave No Trace principles I talked about earlier.”  

Recently, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has drafted a new conservation plan for the state’s Joshua trees. Its purpose is to permanently protect the western Joshua tree habitat from development and other incompatible human uses by prohibiting and limiting development in certain areas.   

The department’s plan was mandated by the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act, a state law enacted last year. The law also requires developers to obtain permits and pay fees when they kill, damage, or remove Joshua trees as part of construction projects. The revenue from those fees is designated to fund efforts to acquire and manage a suitable habitat for the Joshua trees. 

The plan also outlines a collaborative co-management of Yucca and its habitat with the state’s Indigenous American tribes. The authors of the plan are also calling on local, state, and federal government agencies to develop or strengthen strategies to protect Joshua trees from development, wildfires, and other threats. 

Researchers believe that Yucca can survive in a climate that’s growing warmer and drier. The changes to the environment are inevitable, but humans have done a spectacular job of shortening the timeline until our own extinction. However, now is the time to join those who have worked tirelessly to mitigate this by holding businesses and corporations accountable for destructive actions to our environment and making changes to preserve what we still have now.  

I may not ever know if any of the devasted faces I spoke to in the desert were listening, but I hope the mention does inspire the youth to help lead the fight towards a better climate future. One could only hope.