INTRODUCTION
A WITNESS STATEMENT
THE DETRIMENT OF HUMANITY
The scope of this project consisted of a one-week research trip to Joshua Tree National Park, where students were immersed in the surrounding environment and educated about the unique ecologies of the converging Colorado and Mojave Deserts.
Coincidentally, this research trip occured during the United States government shut down in January of 2019, which led to the closure of all federal institutions including national parks. As a result, the class witnessed first-hand environmental destruction the park had endured due to reckless trespassers and vandals.
Destruction included:
• Illegal entry to the park with no means of enforcement
• Vandalism and cut-down of the already threatened joshua trees
• Undesignated off-roading causing further ecological destruction
• Illegal dumping of waste
It is estimated that will take 300 years for Joshua Tree National Park to recover– if it is given the chance to recover at all.
THE DETRIMENT OF HUMANITY
The scope of this project consisted of a one-week research trip to Joshua Tree National Park, where students were immersed in the surrounding environment and educated about the unique ecologies of the converging Colorado and Mojave Deserts.
Coincidentally, this research trip occured during the United States government shut down in January of 2019, which led to the closure of all federal institutions including national parks. As a result, the class witnessed first-hand environmental destruction the park had endured due to reckless trespassers and vandals.
Destruction included:
• Illegal entry to the park with no means of enforcement
• Vandalism and cut-down of the already threatened joshua trees
• Undesignated off-roading causing further ecological destruction
• Illegal dumping of waste
It is estimated that will take 300 years for Joshua Tree National Park to recover– if it is given the chance to recover at all.
