During the Dome Fire of 2020, it was estimated that as many as 1.3 million Joshua trees in Mojave National Preserve were killed. The wildfire started when lightning struck near Cima Dome and spread to about 43,273 acres in 9 days before being fully contained and suppressed.
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There is no estimate of the total population of Joshua trees in the world, but the 1.3 million Joshua trees that were killed in the fire constituted approximately 13% of the Mojave National Preserve tree population.
Considering that the yuccas are native to California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and parts of northwestern Mexico, the preservation of Joshua trees is critical especially with the difficulty of dispersing the seeds due to the lack of large megafauna like giant ground sloths which used to take on that role.
Nowadays, rodents have been the ones, scientists say, to help in the seed-dispersing of Joshua trees but unlike the giant sloths, they don’t travel far. So, with that problem in mind, a couple concerned friends, Jennifer Lagusker and Nance Fite, have volunteered their camels to help in delivering some Joshua tree sprouts for the restoration efforts in the Dome Fire burn scar.
This is a huge aid especially since the National Park Service said that majority of the Joshua trees planted in 2021 and 2022 have died. So, it’s going to take a lot of effort and close attention to get the trees back to their previous numbers.
Thankfully, Lagusker plans to continue working with NPS and hopes that they will be able to bring as many as 12 camels to help with the transportation of the Joshua tree sprouts. So far, Lagusker’s three camels – Chico, Sully, and Herbie – were able to help in planting 24 new Joshua trees on Cima Dome.
(Image credit: Gretchen Spencer/Unsplash)
Source: neatorama