3 Lessons Learned from a Desert Tortoise in Joshua Tree

I grew up in the California Desert and remember seeing my first desert tortoise at 9 years old. Little did I know then I’d dedicate my life to protecting this remarkable creature.

Living near Joshua Tree National Park, I’ve learned where to find the ever-elusive tortoises. One, who I affectionately call Reliable, has become an old friend. I know where his burrows are and where he goes for food. A few years ago, during the first monsoonal rain of the summer, I knew Reliable would be out, eager to drink from a smooth stone near his summer burrow that would collect water.

I walked out to Reliable’s usual summer home — his burrow on a rocky cliffside near the park entrance. Sure enough, after cresting a small hill, I saw him sitting on the rock, waiting for the rain. I watched him for a while and saw him get his first drink of water in what could have been more than six months.

Sometimes, advocacy work in the California desert can feel like an uphill battle, but at this moment, I was reminded of all the reasons I love the desert and its creatures.

At NPCA, we’ve been working to expand Joshua Tree National Park and establish Chuckwalla National Monument to protect the desert tortoise habitat it hosts. The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument spans over 600,000 acres, with approximately two-thirds designated as critical habitat for the Mojave Desert tortoise. Recently, the tortoise was reclassified from threatened to endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA), underscoring the need to preserve as much of its habitat as possible.

This endangered species and its desert home represent family to me and have taught me so many important lessons.

Lesson 1: Home Is Where the Habitat Is

I grew up in Barstow, California, between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. When I tell people, they often react, “Oh, how dreadful! I’m so sorry!” It’s funny because I love where I grew up. I’ve always loved the California desert. It’s what I know — something that’s been with me my whole life, familiar like the back of my hand.

Much like me, desert tortoises remain rooted in the same habitat for their entire lives. Reliable, the desert tortoise I’ve followed at Joshua Tree, likely has been going to the same flat rock during monsoonal rains for the 40-plus years he’s been alive. Tortoises also remember where certain shady spots are to escape the sun, or where some choice bones are to nibble on for calcium. They have an intimate relationship with the areas they reside in.

Don’t get me started on suggestions to relocate tortoises. I liken it to taking your grandpa and dropping him off in the middle of the Mojave Desert with nothing but his shoes — completely disorienting.

That’s why it’s so important to protect the good tortoise habitat that remains in the California desert. Most of the time, tortoises love wide-open spaces and thrive in areas with creosote scrub and alluvial fans — the flat parts of the desert where people assume nothing could survive.

However, climate change is creating hotter and drier conditions, and these areas of the desert are seeing even less precipitation than usual. These altered weather patterns are shifting habitat, and some tortoises are seeking food and water higher into the California desert foothills. It’s important to protect these transition zones for wildlife seeking nourishment.

Along Joshua Tree National Park’s eastern boundary, there is a missing piece. In 1936, the U.S. government removed thousands of acres from the park (originally named Joshua Tree National Monument) for mining iron during World War II. It was long intended that after the mining ended, the government would return the land to the national park. Despite only a section of this region being mined, none of the land has been reincorporated. In 2016, a study by the Park Service confirmed that these lands in this area held important park values like wildlife habitat and should be returned to Joshua Tree.

Our campaign, alongside efforts to establish Chuckwalla National Monument, will finally make this treasured landscape whole again and restore intact habitat for the desert tortoise.

Lesson 2: Desert Time Moves at a Tortoise’s Pace

Time passes differently in the California desert. A wild tortoise can live from 60 to 70 years under good conditions, subsisting on very little — grasses and dry-annual plants here and there — and hibernating from late October through March.

Like the tortoise, many desert plants live a long time, and the entire desert ecosystem operates on a slower timescale than other environments. The creosote bush, for instance, is one of the longest-lived organisms on the planet. There are areas in the Mojave Desert where creosote bushes are well over 10,000 years old. Other plants, like indigo bush and ephedra, can live for hundreds of years. Even the lichen on the rocks in Joshua Tree National Park, which only grows on the rare occasion that it is wet, can represent hundreds of years of life.

Time and scarcity are the secret ingredients that have made deserts teem with endemic species — organisms found nowhere else on Earth. The Mojave Desert is a hotspot for such species because of the extreme environmental conditions that have driven plants and animals to evolve with very specific roles in the ecosystem. The area proposed for permanent protection in Chuckwalla National Monument is a haven for these one-of-a-kind species.

For example, the Orocopia sage only grows within two mountain ranges on Earth and would be protected within the monument’s boundaries. The Munz’s cholla is an endemic cactus that appears as a giant, formidable tree cholla, highlighting the desert’s rare and incredible biodiversity.

Lesson 3: Slow Down and Live Like a Tortoise (Sometimes)

Some of my most peaceful moments have been spent in Joshua Tree National Park, hiking, camping, or just sitting on a rock like Reliable does, waiting for the rain to come in the heat of the summer. It’s given me time to think about what it means for Chuckwalla National Monument to become a reality.

For my young daughter, it represents a place where she will grow up and where she will hopefully connect with the landscape, just as I’ve done. I hope one day she has a desert tortoise moment like I’ve had with Reliable. That’s what it’s all about for me — helping people find something they love about the desert.

For Native people, this region holds immense cultural significance and preserves rich histories and traditions. This alone is a monumental reason to protect it.

For communities in the Eastern Coachella Valley, protecting these areas is vital because heat, pollution and environmental risks are harsh, everyday realities. The region experiences some of the worst air pollution in California — being able to retreat to a place with cleaner air and wide-open spaces is invaluable for connecting with this landscape and for positively improving mental health. 

Everyone should be able to experience the beauty of the California desert landscape just as I have. That’s why NPCA is working to protect this landscape and those who call it home.