Wow!!! Looking at the recent wildflower reports it seems as if this season will be better than I thought. Some friends of mine e-mailed me a photo last week they took at Joshua Tree NP and I wished I was there with them to enjoy all those flowers. I hope next year will be a good year as well because I will defiantly be there. I hope folks get the chance to check out the scenery.

Recently I read an article focused on the conservation of desert springs in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. The magazine is published by the Ecological Society of America. The article describes how current management plans are actually threatening the existence of organisms living in desert springs (ie pupfish). They use two locations to discuss their points - Ash Meadows in the US and Dalhousie Springs in Australia.

Looks like the current management plan has caused the springs to be overgrown by vegetation, which is contributing to the population reduction of native fishes and other organisms. The key factor to the rampage growth of vegetation is the elimination of feral livestock from the springs. Their former presence acted as historical disturbances (former large mammals and humans) to the local vegetation, thus minimizing their growth. Without the livestock there is nothing to keep the vegetation in check.

What is there else to say, the current plan in place clearly isn't working and from what I can gather nothing is being done about it. Even though livestock is not conforming to the idea of what an area use to look like back in the day, some compromises need to be done when certain when certain key players don't exist (large mammals in this case) or humans are not allowed to disturbed the area (when they use to before).

What is it about the American desert that attracts people from all over the world? Is it the great show of wildflowers in the spring, the great climbing found through out the area, the dry air, dramatic landscapes....? For me my love for the desert began with a climbing trip to Joshua Tree NP and since than it has grown with every trip taken to the area. A place where many feel it has no beauty, I find beauty around every corner. A fair warning to those who travel with me in the desert - don't expect to get far on a single day.