/>iThe California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) took final action to approve the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan (Conservation Plan) at its August 13, 2025, meeting.
As detailed in our previous alert, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) released the Draft Conservation Plan to the Commission on December 12, 2024, as required by the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act (Act). The Conservation Plan sets forth management practices and guidelines for the avoidance and minimization of impacts to western Joshua trees.
The Commission held four public hearings over a six-month span to receive public comment and engage in substantive discussion regarding the Draft Conservation Plan. CDFW responded to feedback that it received throughout the public review process by making a variety of revisions to the plan, which we summarized here. Though the Act required that the Commission approve the Draft Conservation Plan by June 30, 2025, the Commission decided at its June 12, 2025, meeting to postpone final action in order to allow for additional public review and comment.
At the August 13 meeting, CDFW Director Charlton Bonham explained that there had been no significant changes to the Draft Conservation Plan since the Commission’s June meeting. However, Director Bonham discussed recently approved August 5, 2025 revisions to the Western Joshua Tree Relocation Guidelines and Protocols (Relocation Guidelines), which are incorporated into the Conservation Plan. These Relocation Guidelines detail tree relocation procedures that may be implemented as conditions to incidental take permits. The Commissioners also heard from tribal leaders, elected officials, representatives of the building industry, and individual constituents. Comments were generally positive and supportive of the plan, though individuals continued to express concerns regarding excessive permit fees. After minimal discussion among the Commissioners, the Commission voted unanimously to approve the Conservation Plan.
The Conservation Plan does not create new statutory or regulatory mandates. Rather, the management actions described in the Conservation Plan may be voluntarily adopted by project proponents, land managers, and philanthropists or may be incorporated into project approvals by local, state, and federal government agencies that authorize projects or resource management programs in the western Joshua tree’s range. Now that the Conservation Plan has been approved, applicants pursuing projects that affect the western Joshua tree may be required to comply with various aspects of the Conservation Plan as a condition of local, state, or federal approvals.
The Act requires that the Commission consider CDFW’s recommendations for Conservation Plan amendments “beginning in 2026 and at least every two years thereafter,” so modifications to the Conservation Plan are anticipated over time.
