From October 2024 through September 2025, Joshua Tree National Park advanced comprehensive burned area rehabilitation restoration and proactive plant material production efforts. This effort was to focus on strengthening the park’s resilience after wildfire, particularly, the Elk Trail (2022) and Geology Tour (2023) fires, and to grow plant materials to be on hand to respond to wildfires in the near future. “These efforts are critical for ensuring rapid response to rehabilitate Joshua tree woodlands and other Mojave desert plant communities in the wake of increasingly more frequent and more devastating wildfires.” Dr. Sheri Shiflett, Division Lead of Science and Resource Stewardship at Joshua Tree National Park. This work is still ongoing and GBI (and NPS) staff are continuing restoration efforts for these fires.
At the heart of the project was the park’s native plant nursery. Throughout the year, teams experimented and refined germination and stratification methods for key desert species. Here seeds and cuttings from desert plants were collected responsibly within the park and surrounding area. In total, seeds were collected from 64 native plant taxa, expanding the diversity of plant material available for restoration. The seedlings were grown into young plants ready to return to the land. Species such as pinyon pine, juniper, joshua tree, and other natives were carefully propagated. These plants help stabilize soils, provide wildlife habitat and support long term recovery in burned areas.
Beyond nursery operations, the project emphasized hands-on restoration and workforce development. Volunteer engagement played a critical role throughout the year. With more than 15 regular volunteers contributing thousands of hours to seed cleaning, transplanting, plant care, and nursery maintenance. Collectively, teams sowed over 170 seed flats and transplanted more than 12,000 seedlings into paper, PVC, and other specialized containers to support active restoration projects across the park. Community members and groups contributed regularly to nursery tasks, seed cleaning, transplanting and plant care. The park has also begun a partnership with MDLT in 2025 to provide additional training for GBI nursery staff and to grow native Mojave desert plants for post-fire restoration. These efforts not only expanded the project’s capacity but also strengthened connections between the community and park.
Restoration work extended across multiple priority sites, concentrating on locations where post-fire recovery required active intervention. Active restoration included outplanting nursery plants, planting seed pits, and installing cages around surviving Joshua tree seedlings to protect from herbivory. By increasing native plant establishment in these areas, the project helped reduce erosion, protect sensitive soils, and guide recovering landscapes toward more stable self-sustaining plant communities.
In addition to restoration, teams supported invasive plant management using an Early Detection Rapid Response approach. Seasonal surveys focused on areas most vulnerable to invasion, such as disturbed corridors and intermittently wet environments. When invasive plants were identified, crews implemented appropriate treatments and carefully documented their work to support long-term monitoring and adaptive management. Careful data collection and documentation were completed in every phase of the work. Restoration treatments, invasive species surveys, and nursery production were quality-checked, mapped, and recorded to support reporting and long-term monitoring. This information will guide future rehabilitation efforts and help track ecological recovery in Joshua Tree National Park for years to come.
Together, these efforts reflect a comprehensive approach to post-fire rehabilitation—one that integrates science-based restoration, community involvement, and workforce development to build resilient desert ecosystems across Joshua Tree National Park. Learn more about it here https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/promoting-post-fire-recovery-joshua-trees.htm
