Last fall, petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to add the iconic Joshua tree鈥攁 spindly, long-living succulent in the Southwest鈥攖o the endangered species list. If the service agrees, it will be the first time a species gets protection as a direct result of the impact of climate change. (In 2008, the FWS agreed to designate the polar bear threatened but not endangered.)聽This would mean that factors con颅tributing to climate change, like fossil-fuel extraction, could become highly reg颅ulated near the park. 鈥淚t could聽be a game changer,鈥 says WildEarth鈥檚 Tay颅lor Jones.
Most models pre颅dict Joshua tree 颅habitat loss of 90 per颅cent within the next聽50 to 100 years due to climate-change-fueled drought. And just because 14 per颅cent of Joshua trees reside in 颅national parks doesn鈥檛 mean聽they鈥檙e somehow聽less vulnerable. 鈥淐limate change knows no borders, and some聽studies found that their habitat might聽be some of the hardest hit going 颅forward,鈥 says Jones. Fish and Wildlife is expected to issue an opinion soon, but 颅activ颅ists say that they will continue the fight even if the tree isn鈥檛 designated鈥攖hey鈥檝e also submitted a similar proposal for two cold-颅dependent insects in Glacier National Park.聽