Posted on 06/28/2021 12:53:29 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Two home builders who destroyed 36 Joshua trees on their Prescott Avenue property were fined $18,000 in court Tuesday.
“It is unlawful to remove these trees. It is a violation that will be investigated thoroughly and prosecuted,” said Patrick Foy, a captain with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The investigation began Feb. 11, when a Morongo Basin resident saw two local landowners uprooting Joshua trees to make way for a single-family home. They had the trees pulled from the ground and were burying them in a hole on the property, according to the prosecutor.
“A resident in the community who is faced with the same restrictions on developing property, that person was upset to see these two property owners going out and bulldozing 32 Joshua trees and destroying and burying them,” Foy said.
The witness called the CalTip poaching and pollution tip line run by the state Fish & Wildlife Department.
“The action was in progress when the tip came in — in fact the backhoe was actively knocking down and burying these trees, and our closest officer was more than two hours away,” Foy said.
“It wasn’t even his normal patrol area but because the potential crime was in progress, he ran over there and they had just wrapped up for the day. It was pretty obvious what had happened.”
According to Douglas Poston, the supervising deputy district attorney for the Morongo Basin, the wildlife officer found what was clearly a freshly dug and refilled hole.
“His investigation involved using a backhoe to re-dig the hole, where he recovered the buried Joshua trees.”
The officer presented his findings to Poston’s office and they decided to prosecute the landowners, Jeffrey Walter and Jonetta Nordberg-Walter.
The county district attorney’s office filed 36 misdemeanor charges each against Walter and Nordberg-Walter, one for each tree.
Poston said the couple represented themselves in court and cooperated with his office.
They appeared in Judge Shanon Faherty’s courtroom in Joshua Tree on Tuesday and agreed to pay $9,000 each.
“A portion of the fine has been previously paid, and the defendants may earn some additional credit toward the fine by performing volunteer work for Joshua Tree National Park or the Mojave Desert Land Trust,” Poston stated in a press release.
The $18,000 will go into the Western Joshua Tree Mitigation Fund, an account opened by the state. Fish & Wildlife documents say money in the fund pays for land where western Joshua trees will be permanently protected.
The developers also agreed to not violate any law for the diversion period, which starts at 24 months but may be terminated after 12 if they fully comply.
If they pay the fine and complete all terms, the court will dismiss the case. If not, Poston said the district attorney will proceed with prosecution.
Foy and Douglas Poston, supervising prosecutor at the district attorney’s Morongo Basin office, issued a press release about the case to spread the word on Joshua tree protections.
“We wanted to let the public know this is a real thing,” Poston said. “You can be prosecuted criminally now.”
Taking a western Joshua tree became a criminal act in September 2020, when the state Fish & Wildlife Commission made the tree a candidate for endangered or threatened species protections, Foy said.
“The population status of the western Joshua tree has justified its proposed listing and it’s something that we are certainly taking very seriously,” Foy said. “It has been a higher priority for our investigators since the commission decision.”
It is illegal to disturb, move, replant remove or kill western Joshua trees. Taking a western Joshua tree is a misdemeanor crime punishable by up to $4,100 in fines and six months in jail.
The CalTip hotline is run 24 hours a day, seven days a week at (888) 334-2258 and tip411.
Anyone with a cellphone may send an anonymous tip to Fish & Wildlife by texting “CALTIP”, followed by a space and the message, to 847411 (tip411).
No...The Joshua Tree is a CANDIDATE for protection at present. You can actually apply for a permit to remove them.
Should have done their homework. These protected plants usually sell really well. They probably could have gotten paid way more than the fine to have them taken away. My boss once had a licensed saguaro mover just pull up and offer him 6 grand for the saguaro in his front yard. He said yes, boom.
Same thing as having to protect the root zone of live oaks in california when doing construction. They knew the rules and took their chances... and lost.
They’re endangered because of fires.....not climate change.
One of many stupid laws in CA. Too bad, so sad.
Looks like Spanish Bayonet.
A developer sees a beautiful, scenic spot that has trees and then cuts down the trees.
I don't get it.
Contractors should know the law. No excuse.
Why are they considered an endangered species? There are millions of them out in the desert.
Doesn’t matter why they’re endangered. Saguaros are endangered cause they grow really slow. The important part is, on the endangered list usually means there’s a good market for selling them.
It was probably cheaper to pay the fine than to go through the system to get a permit to move or cut down the trees.
I totally agree. They should work around the existing landscape. You get along with your neighbors much better. But many want to put their “imprint” on the property with a big, “look at me” house.
They probably figured that $18k was fine, as log as they could develop their land. My tagline also applies, as usual.
We can be certain that the Deed specifies, "...and new Owner shall not unlawfully change the nature of the land, and its appurtenances, or alter its appearance..."
Couldn't ask for anything clearer than that!
Regards,
Peasants don't own property. They are only caretakers for the elite. No such thing as "your own property".
They took all the trees put ‘em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar an’a half just to see ‘em
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
I know why they are protected. They are Yukka plants that “identify” as trees.
(They really are Yukkas)
You get to enslave yourself in debt for up to 30 years for the right to care for the property until such time as you decide to pass it along to the next caretaker and, hopefully, make a small profit from your 30 year enslavement.
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