My favorite part of the whole lie is how manipulative it is. Because the Parks Service and the MDLT and everyone acts like *this* ecosystem just doesn't follow the rules of literally every other ecosystem because it's just *so unique* and that's why we have to *preserve it*.

But it's that really stupid John Muir or Teddy Roosevelt mentality. We can destroy "nature" all we want, so long as we carve out these special little parks and keep them exactly the same as they've been since we carved them out, and make money from them all the while. Pave roads through them. Make cute little trails, lots of which are disruptive in and of themselves.

There are so many lies here. Someone told me that every grass you see here is invasive. Elucidated his whole "weed control" strategy. But then, we know about ricegrass. How many other riparian grasses are just literally extinct now because the settlers destroyed *all of them*?

We know that the grasslands just East of here held over 400 species of grasses before the wheat craze that preceded the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl destroyed all of them.

How many species were never documented?

And if we assume *a lot* of the most delicate species of grasses and other plants and animals were simply never documented before they were destroyed, how do we replace their niche?

Well, maybe plants from other places have a role! Maybe all these pioneer plants could be utilized rather than destroyed! Creosote is the ultimate mother, we know that. And if you prune it, and if it has water, it grows pretty fast and upright and gives lots of amazing shade. it's more like a tree than a bush, under the conditions it was *supposed to thrive under* (wherein its population also wouldn't be able to dominate the entire ecosystem). But what's the first thing people do when they buy property here? Grade their land even flatter, and rip out every creosote bush. Then they plant a few teddy bear cholla and beavertail, and if they're rich a saguaro, for landscaping, and call themselves "good people" for being so "water wise".

#ClimateJustice #NationalParks #JoshuaTree #JoshuaTreeNationalPark #MojaveDesert