It's been over a year since a catastrophic wildfire swept through Cima Dome in Mojave National Preserve. Having recently read about restoration efforts in progress gave me the courage to walk the snowy Teutonia Peak Trail on the first day of 2022. Many of the statuesque joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) who perished were significantly older than our comparatively nascent U.S.A..
Before the Dome Fire.
After.
I found no signs of this beautiful Mojave pricklypear (Opuntia polyacantha var. erinacea).
Mojave kingcup cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus ssp. mojavensis)
This Mojave kingcup was no match for a fire of that intensity.
Engelmann's hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii ssp. engelmannii) didn’t make it.
Blackened joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) sprouting from its base.
While there, I contemplated the Biden administration’s decision to approve more large scale solar farms in our deserts. I understand the urgent need to do something to faze out our dependence on fossil fuels, both to curb rising CO2 emissions and because they're finite resources. We’ve got a few years before entropy decommissions the Sun which makes adding solar infrastructure a great choice, but it's difficult for me to accept that the best way to continue harnessing its power is by bulldozing habitat that doesn’t resemble Tatooine in the slightest. In addition to parched farmland that’s no longer viable due to our water crisis, there are many rooftops and parking lots where solar could be installed. That would require our elected officials putting utility companies that are inexplicably encouraged to profit off of a basic need in their places, so I won't be holding my breath.
Desert iguana says, “Hey, this is my home!”
Robin Street-Morris. Passage X (Homeward Through Mojave Wilderness). Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 15" x 19" (38 x 48cm).
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Closer to home, I recently experienced a wonderful encounter with a resident bobcat in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. We locked eyes briefly before it disappeared into the riparian vegetation along the year-round creek.
Robin Street-Morris. Gaze II (Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve Bobcat). Colored pencil on 300lb cold press paper. 13” x 15” (33 x 38cm).