The writer Edward Abbey is revered by many desert activists, and roundly criticized by others, all based on the provocative and occasionally offensive things he wrote. Chris and Alicia talk about the prescient and helpful things Abbey wrote, and about the things they wish that neither Abbey nor anyone else had ever said, some of which have gained currency among the most violent practitioners of rightwing politics.

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From the mid-1980s until the first months of the 21st Century, a coalition of desert tribes and non-Native activists worked to keep the state of California from siting a low-level nuclear waste dump in the Mojave Desert, on land sacred to at least five tribes, above an aquifer that drains into the Colorado River. Philip Klasky, an instructor at San Francisco State and a resident of the desert in San Bernardino County, played a crucial role in that campaign, which succeeded against all odds. Phil's story is a lesson in how people working together can beat those odds. He also taught us at 90 Miles from Needles the importance of Native peoples taking the lead in land-based campaigns.

Phil died unexpectedly earlier this year. We are grateful to The Mojave Project for allowing us to use their recorded interview with Phil, and to our friend Matthew Leivas of the Chemehuevi Tribe for sharing with us the Salt Songs he sang at Ward Valley in May to honor Phil.

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Joshua trees, the iconic species of the Mojave Desert, are in serious danger of becoming extinct across most of their range... and yet the state of California is recommending against granting the trees permanent protection. We talk to desert botanist Christina Sanchez and Brendan Cummings of the Center for Biological Diversity about the dangers the trees face, and what we can do to stop California from stripping the trees' protections. Plus, C&A visit a Joshua tree forest threatened by unsustainable development,

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Plus, why rock stacking is a bad habit, and how you can keep the state of California from stripping protections from the western Joshua tree. Listen to the episode either before or after you click here: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/1PcJypNEXEq5JSsEnx64gQ2?fbclid=IwAR0kuSiQL_uwsTaWx0D01QAA-VC-mitc4ZWeFAfuKnrvE9te-cUZpiAvSz0 to register your support for keeping the trees protected.

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Considered extinct by the late 1950s, the Shoshone pupfish was rediscovered 36 years ago by a woman who changed her entire town to preserve the species. We talk to Shoshone resident Susan Sorrells about her life and the fish, with context set by Mason Voehl of the Amargosa Conservancy.

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They're more complicated than the howling silhouette on your bespoke candle holder from Santa Fe, and more interesting. Chris and Alicia discuss living with coyotes in the desert, what they offer, what they don't offer, and how we can best get along. Also: updates on Colorado River drought and Cima Dome wildflowers.  

Episode image © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

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Spring is coming, and that means that hundreds of thousands of people start thinking about visiting the desert to see the "superbloom."  But even in the rare years when it happens, there's a right way and a wrong way to take in the desert flower show. Chris and Alicia offer tips. Plus: a note on Ukraine, and an update on the Dixie Valley Toad. Episode photo by CA State Parks

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As we publish, scientists are announcing that the last dozen years are the driest in more than a millennium. With the desert's cities ever more dependent on water from the Colorado River, how will southwestern society meet the challenge of hyper-aridity? Chris and Alicia get water wonky with Kyle Roerink of the Great Basin Water Network.

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Cima Dome was supposed to be a place where Joshua trees were most likely to survive climate change. A climate-accentuated wildfire hit there anyway. In this episode, Chris relates how much the Cima Dome Joshua tree forest meant to him, he traumatizes Alicia by showing her the place, and then we talk with a National Park Service botanist about revegetation efforts. Despite the magnitude of the fire, individual efforts are already making a difference.

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Discovered only in 2017, the Dixie Valley toad is found only in one 400-acre hot spring wetland in remote Nevada. Guess where a giant geothermal corporation is ready to build a wetland-draining power plant? We talk to Patrick Donnelly of the Center for Biological Diversity about this wild species threatened by the energy industry, and the Center's campaign to save the toad. Learn how you can help!

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