We Did It! Mojave River Oasis Protected

We did it! Western Rivers Conservancy permanently protected a rare stretch of California’s Mojave River as a haven for imperiled fish and wildlife.

Most of the Mojave River flows below ground, but along one very special stretch, the river is pushed to the surface by the underlying bedrock and forms a lush oasis in heart of the Mojave Desert. Thanks to your support, we just protected a critical 3.5 miles of this stretch, including the most important stands of riverside forest along this entire reach of the river.

The property we protected last week is called Palisades Ranch, and its stands of cottonwoods and willows, along with the presence of a perennially flowing river, make it one of the Mojave Desert’s most important habitat areas for fish and wildlife. A true oasis, the property attracts 39 federally and state listed special-status wildlife species.

Last week, we conveyed the 1,647-acre ranch to our partner, the Mojave Desert Land Trust, which will now manage the property to ensure it forever remains a refuge for the region's diverse plants and wildlife. The California Wildlife Conservation Board, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service generously funded our transfer of the ranch to MDLT for permanent protection.

Thank you for making this project possible! We couldn’t have done it without your support.