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Los Angeles Times
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
California approves an unprecedented plan to protect Joshua trees from climate change threats
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.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Spear pressure: Idaho eyes spearfishing proposals
Apr. 18—Bass, pike, walleye and lake trout may soon become fair game in parts of Idaho for anglers who prefer shooting spears to baiting hooks. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is proposing to allow spearfishing for certain non-native game fish species across the state. In North Idaho, the agency's proposal would allow anglers to spear northern pike, walleye and lake trout in Lake Pend Oreille and Upper Priest Lake. Farther south, officials are proposing more generalized seasons on bass and walleye. Spearfishing is legal in Idaho for unprotected nongame species, such as carp and suckers. The new rules would allow spearfishers to target more desirable species — and some spearfishers are pretty excited about it. Dustin Clay, a spearfisher who lives in Payette, said letting folks like him spear species like walleye and pike will help the state's efforts to control those non-native predators. He also thinks it would be nice to shoot something other than carp and pikeminnow. "It's not about just going out and killing fish," Clay said. "It's about getting some things that I can also bring home and feed my family with." Idaho Fish and Game announced its spearfishing proposals in a news release on Monday. Public comment is being taken until April 28 and the Fish and Game Commission will consider them next month. Spearfishing is thought of more commonly as an ocean activity. In Washington, it's allowed for saltwater fishing but not for freshwater. Freshwater spearfishing is allowed in other states, including Montana, but generally only for specific species. Andy Dux, the fisheries manager for Idaho Fish and Game's Panhandle region, said Idaho's proposals are being put forward about a year after spearfishers asked the Fish and Game Commission to allow them to target species the agency is actively trying to remove. This winter, the Idaho Legislature approved a rule change that made killing fish with a mechanically or manually propelled spear while submerged underwater a legal method of take. That change allows the commission to set seasons and bag limits for spearfishing. If approved, spearfishing seasons would start July 1. All of the seasons proposed limit spearfishers to specific non-native species, ranging from smallmouth bass to northern pike. No season dates or bag limits are proposed — where it would be allowed, anglers could take all they can spear. The proposals vary between regions. In the Lewiston-based Clearwater region, for example, officials are suggesting letting anglers target bass in any river or stream, citing the threat the meat-eating warmwater beasts pose to salmon and steelhead. Spearfishing for bass would be off-limits in stillwater, such as Dworshak Reservoir. Walleye would be fair game wherever they're found in the Clearwater region. Identical rules are proposed for the Salmon region. Elsewhere, targeting bass would be limited to certain waterbodies. In the Panhandle, spearfishers could target walleye wherever they find them — so far, they're considered to be established in Lake Pend Oreille and the Pend Oreille and Clark Fork rivers. The other proposals would allow spearfishing for northern pike and lake trout in Lake Pend Oreille and Upper Priest Lake. All three species are ones Fish and Game has tried to suppress in the Panhandle because of their impacts on native fish. Dux said allowing spearfishing gives the state another tool to try to keep their numbers down. He also said he doesn't expect that there will be large numbers of spearfishers flocking to the lakes. "We're not expecting this to generate high-level mortality in these populations," Dux said. "It's going to be more of a niche opportunity." There will be a following, though. Clay, who grew up in New Meadows, picked up spearfishing on a vacation to Hawaii. He bought a cheap spearfishing gun on Amazon, and once he tried it he was hooked. He started a Facebook page a while back under the name Idaho Spearfishing Club as a way to find some dive partners. He's met a few people that way, and the group now has more than 250 followers. He likes spearfishing because it's nothing like sitting on a boat or on the bank waiting for a bite. Instead, he dives into the fish's environment and looks for fish. He has to move smoothly to get a good shot. "Spearfishing is more like if you combine hunting with fishing," Clay said. "It's a very fun way to go about it. There's nothing else quite like it." The rule will require spearfishers to be completely submerged — no sniping big fish while standing on a boat. They'll either need to be snorkeling, scuba diving or free diving. Clay snorkels. Others dive much deeper, like Dennis Haussler. Haussler, who lives in Sandpoint, learned spearfishing as a kid on the coast of California and has competed in professional spearfishing tournaments around the world. He free dives, meaning he goes underwater for as long as he can hold his breath. Two-minute dives are common for him. He said some elite spearfishers do three-minute dives. He said spearfishing seems to be growing in popularity in freshwater, thanks at least in part to organized tournaments. "I don't think it will ever be huge up here, but it will gain some interest," Haussler said. Since moving to Sandpoint three years ago, he's been doing a little bit of spearfishing on Lake Pend Oreille for nongame species like northern pikeminnow. He's seen northern pike and walleye around, and he thinks there will be a handful of anglers who will chase pike in particular when they're hanging out on weed beds. For the most part, he motors around the lake on a boat looking for fishy structure. Then he drops into the water and waits for the fish to come to him. Spears aren't effective from more than 10 or 12 feet away. "Generally, we shoot fish because they come to us to see what they're doing," Haussler said. "We don't chase them. We don't really stalk them." Divers use red flags with white diagonal slashes on them to signal to other lake users that they're underwater. The hope is that other boaters will see the flag and steer clear, but Haussler said divers always have to be monitoring their own safety. Haussler said he's met a few other spearfishers in North Idaho. He also thinks there are more of them out there who will be excited about the opportunity to target more desirable species. For him, there's one species in particular he's looking forward to shooting. "Walleye," he said. "I love eating them."
