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The Mojave National Preserve is having its iconic Joshua trees restored thanks to a crack team of a dozen volunteers, 3 beasts, and 6 humps.
Following wildfires in 2020 and 2023, the National Parks Service undertook a massive project to breed Joshua trees in nurseries and pack them into the high desert country, and a team of volunteers are using camels to do it.
Camels (two humps), not to be confused with dromedaries (1 hump), would have been present on the North American continent during the last Ice Age thanks to the Bearing Land Bridge, so their presence isn’t a total disturbance.
And indeed, the volunteers working with the camels on behalf of the National Park Service argue they cause less disturbance than mules or horses.
Speaking of the Ice Age, the Mojave Desert’s Joshua tree forests are the most expansive in the country, but they were only able to number in the millions because of the Giant Ground Sloth, reports LAist.
These huge furry mammals fed on the Joshua trees, and would have been like double-decker buses for their seeds, carting them around to all corners of the desert. Since their extinction, the plant has had to rely on wind and rodents, with decidedly less success.
Continued below.
www.goodnewsnetwork.org
Following wildfires in 2020 and 2023, the National Parks Service undertook a massive project to breed Joshua trees in nurseries and pack them into the high desert country, and a team of volunteers are using camels to do it.
Camels (two humps), not to be confused with dromedaries (1 hump), would have been present on the North American continent during the last Ice Age thanks to the Bearing Land Bridge, so their presence isn’t a total disturbance.
And indeed, the volunteers working with the camels on behalf of the National Park Service argue they cause less disturbance than mules or horses.
Speaking of the Ice Age, the Mojave Desert’s Joshua tree forests are the most expansive in the country, but they were only able to number in the millions because of the Giant Ground Sloth, reports LAist.
These huge furry mammals fed on the Joshua trees, and would have been like double-decker buses for their seeds, carting them around to all corners of the desert. Since their extinction, the plant has had to rely on wind and rodents, with decidedly less success.
Continued below.
After Mojave Fires, Camels Help Restore Iconic Joshua Tree Groves in the Cherished California Desert
The Cima Dome project was considered finished after 3,500 seedlings were planted—carried out on the humps of Herbie, Sully, and Chico.
www.goodnewsnetwork.org
