The Complex Threat to Joshua Tree

Preservation and accessibility in the face of growth

Joshua Tree is a place of aesthetic and functional contrasts. While other high desert towns strive for respectability and commerce, Joshua Tree uses patina rather than paint and chooses to shun the Dollar Store in favor a Crochet Museum.

The only way in or out of the town of Joshua Tree area is via state route 62 or by wending through the south entrance of the park from Interstate 10. The main highway is populated by three cities, each quite distinct in flavor. Yucca Valley, to the west, is a pragmatic desert town known for antique shops and strip malls. Joshua Tree is focused on the funky and is the after hours watering hole for hikers and climbers. To the east, 29 Palms mainly serves the Marine Corp base, a counterbalance to the counterculture.

The prospectors and horse thieves pushed the native population out by 1913 only to be replaced by farmers and ranchers. Homesteading of up to 160 ares continued until 1977 gradually giving way to naturalists, rock climbers, artists, and those seeking spiritual solace.

While the city of Joshua Tree has worked diligently to limit the intrusion of big box stores and franchises, neighboring Yucca Valley has exploded with Walmart, Home Depot, and Panda Express. Always the more utilitarian city, it is now providing lodging for more visitors than the park can support.

• While Joshua Tree proper has seen moderate increases in population, nearby Yucca Valley has grown 23% in the past 2 decades.
• Median home prices in Joshua Tree have doubled to $200K+ in the last 7 years.
• An empty lot in central Joshua Tree sold for $7,000 last summer and now with a tiny 700 sq. ft. modular house is listed for $399,900! — You do the math.

At this writing Zillow lists 232 properties for sale with only 37 having existing houses. This is a huge potential for new housing development in the area closest to the National Park.

Visitations

During the winter holidays there will often be a line of cars waiting to gain entrance to the park. Park staff have done an excellent job clearing pass holders though so as not to wait on the credit card transactions of other but there is only so much you can do with a narrow two lane road.

Generally visitors to the park are respectful of the environment and the presence of rangers keeps the more unruly types in check. Joshua trees are a threatened species and are not strong enough to hold an instagramer’s hammock.

The worst vistors arrived during the government shutdown of 2018 when all park staff except emergency responders were furloughed. With open gates and no ranger supervision, city slickers with no trail experience came flooding in. It was a horror to see fragile plants that took decades to grow being trampled or broken by people going off trail. Some actually got stuck getting stuck atop boulder formations while their friends and family tried frantically to find cell service.

A helicopter rescued one of the luckier ones.

This enthusiasm mixed with ignorance is hard to take but with the new Trump administration I saw, for the first time, Nazi graffiti. The park service was thankful for the report and sent someone to remove it, but it was disheartening to see such an angry and vile symbol in this sacred space where minorities are underrepresented.

Aside from a racist icon being crudely scratched into a trail marker, there are arguably more impotant factors that are detrimental to outdoor diversity. Access to the park is already limited to those that can afford to take time off work with access to transportation and it is becoming increasingly expensive to get lodging. The average off-season Airbnb price is $265 per night. This is well the price in popular destinations like Napa or Big Bear, but it is a big limiting factor for lower incomes to gain access to the National Park and the art community in town.

The rural region is not unusual with a make up of 83% white, even with the local Marine base bringing in some diversity. The Black population in the area is only slightly higher than the 2% of Black representation in National Parks visits nationwide. The reasons for lack of color on the trail are plenty but we cannot hold the Park Service soley responsible. They have worked diligently to make public land accessible and now with the increased popularity comes real estate pricing that goes with “National Park adjacent”.

The future

I don’t foresee low cost Airbnb rentals being offered anytime soon but a few changes in the business and culture would help.

1. Property owners can make BIPOC welcome by simply communicating in a friendly manner. If direct discounts are difficult contractually, a welcome basket, or gift card to a local eatery is a nice touch.
2. The Park Service can and will continue making inroads on visitation diversity. I have nothing but a tip of the hat here.
3. Investors should never speculate on property in sensitive areas. Sure, flipping an empty lot for a quarter of a million in profit sounds enticing but so does buying Ratheon stock. Just don’t do it.
4. Visitors absolutely should be courteous to any BIPOC on the trail or while waiting for an après-hike table at the Crossroads Cafe.
5. Anyone can get involved with, or donate to organizations that support BIPOC youth getting out into nature.
6. If you write about the outdoors or National Parks in particular please do not pad it out with images of white hipsters living their best priviledges.

I’ll leave you with one more shot as long as you promise to tread lightly.