Joshua Tree will forever hold a special place in my spirit, and I’ll carry those moments with me wherever I go. From late-night expeditions in search of a pharmacy after the dust and pollen staged its attack, to sitting beneath the night sky painted by stars. From days when the camera overheated under the desert sun, to nights spent burrowed beneath blankets chasing warmth. Joshua Tree was magical, real, and unforgettable.

Joshua Tree National Park was originally established through efforts of local residents – most notably Minerva Hamilton Hoyt. After the death of her husband in 1918, Hoyt grew increasingly concerned that the rising automobile traffic would threaten the fragile desert landscape. As a prominent socialite, Hoyt used her influence to help educate people about the exceptional qualities of the desert plants by organizing large-scale exhibits across the country to show off the extraordinary desert plants. She famously transported seven freight cars filled with rocks, native plants, and sand to the 1928 Garden Club of America show in New York. Her later exhibits even reached audiences as far away as London.

In March 1930, Hoyt founded the International Desert Conservation League, dedicating herself to the protection of desert environments. Through persistent advocacy, she contributed to the efforts of establishing three major desert parks: Joshua Tree, Death Valley, and Anza-Borrego Desert. In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt used the authority granted by the 1906 Antiquities Act to establish Joshua Tree National Monument, protecting approximately 825,000 acres of pristine desert landscape.

In 1950 the park lost roughly 290,000 acres due to mining interests. Since then, through persistent conservational efforts, the park has gradually expanded and regained portions of the land that was lost. Today, the park spans nearly 765,000 acres (as of November 2025). However, rising temperatures and continued political pressure to sell and develop public land pose significant challenges to the long-term preservation of this magical desert environment.

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