Feds move to protect Joshua tree

The famous Joshua tree could receive new protections from the federal government.

{mosads}The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on Tuesday initiated a year-long status review of the desert tree that is the namesake of Joshua Tree National Park in California. The review could lead to the tree being listed as a threatened or endangered species.

“During our status review, we will thoroughly evaluate all potential threats to the species, including the extent to which any protections or other conservation efforts have reduced those threats,” the agency wrote in the Federal Register.

The Joshua tree is believed to have received its name from a group of Mormon travelers. It is native to the American Southwest and is found in swaths of the Mojave Desert that cross through California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada.

But the Joshua tree has fallen victim to climate change, critics say, and could all but disappear over the next century.

WildEarth Guardians filed a petition last year with the FWS to list the Joshua tree as a threatened species and establish a critical habitat. The agency said Tuesday those protections “may be warranted.”

The public has 60 days to comment.