by Pat Flanagan
Why bother to buy land? What good is it? Provocative questions; let me try to articulate some answers. I will, however, start with moving feet, not at my desk.
Land – open, beautiful, wild – is not an abstract for me. I need it. I want to see and feel things. I have to walk it, sit on its rocks, look under those rocks, explore its whole, smell it, photograph it, look at maps, and talk to the neighbors. The 955 acres on the east side of Quail Mountain in south Joshua Tree is compelling and I have been walking it for the past two years, which is not nearly as long as the neighbors in the adjacent communities of Joshua Highlands, Monument Manor, and Friendly Hills. They can tell me stories and show photos of the tortoise, the bobcats, the bighorn sheep, the birds, and even the bear. They also clean up the trash dumped by people who are blind to its beauty. Out walking, I have been asked bluntly by a local what I’m doing there. I charmingly seized the opportunity to tell this guardian that the Mojave Desert Land Trust is buying this land, please join us by becoming a member.
But, back to ‘why’. The first ‘good’ is the Federal and State threatened desert tortoise—lots of them, all in need of protection. They live here on 300 acres at the base of the rocky foothills. There are big old ones, teenagers, and even babies with soft glistening shells and big round eyes. This large tortoise population is unique and compels the question, “why here?” My first thought is – by accident. The past and present owners of the land didn’t develop it, possibly because the steep rocky hills that make up the majority of sections 11 and 13 pose challenging engineering problems. The level acres, however, are developable but remain as natural and serene as any in the Morongo Basin, a safe harbor for this ancient species.
Yet, if this patch of superb tortoise habitat were isolated in a sea of development, the Land Trust would not touch it, regardless of its beauty and threatened species. Every land trust has the mission and obligation under state and federal regulations to preserve in perpetuity the conservation values of the land it acquires. We look for winners – land we know we can protect forever.
Think of it this way. You have the most beautiful house in the world, but to function – to provide a home for your family – it requires, at minimum, water, power, arable land for food production, and replacement parts as it ages. Without these things the family will not thrive and the house will deteriorate. These necessities – the structure of your living world – come from outside the house and they are connected to an even larger functioning whole.
The second good then, is that the 955 acres are connected to Joshua Tree National Park. Step back, take a look. From high overhead Quail Mountain is a rugged and roadless wilderness. It is the highest mountain in the Park (5,813 feet above sea level) collecting the rain and snow from storms moving inland from the Pacific or up from the Gulfs of California and Mexico. The ephemeral waterways, channels, and seeps that we see, connect the landscape. These veins collect and drain the moisture that, mixed with nutrients released by the rocks, animal dung and decaying plants and animals, supports the dandelions and native bunch grasses sustaining the tortoise below. These same waterways channel the breath of the mountain as it inhales the morning air, providing currents for bird flight and upslope movement of insects. The evening exhalations, that refresh us while we walk, carry the same and other elements down slope.
We do not see the slow time it takes for the mixing and the movement that supports living on the mountain; we do not see the time it takes for life to adjust after storms bring lightening strike fires. We do not see the artificial boundary line hoisting a safety net inside the National Park; nor do we see the vulnerability of the mountain’s toes jutting beyond that net into the developing community. We are however beginning to see the shifts brought by the changing climate and we are planning for perpetuity.
The Mojave Desert Land Trust bothers to buy land in an attempt to capture time, encompassing the natural cycles that feed the land and the living. This work supports the vulnerable, including humans, for generations to come.
We hope you can join us – Community Support Saves Land. To learn more about the 955 acres and how you can help, visit www.mojavedesertlandtrust.org
