• Sunrise at the Cholla Cactus Garden

    Joshua Tree

    National Park California

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  • Pinto Basin Road Renovation

    Pinto Basin Road is being renovated. On weekdays you may encounter travel delays of up to 30 minutes. Cholla Cactus Garden is closed on weekdays. Cottonwood Visitor Center hours are 9 to 4 on weekdays, 8 to 4 weekends. More »

  • Rattlesnake Canyon Remains Closed

    To provide additional time to mitigate the vandalism, Rattlesnake Canyon will remain completely closed to the public until further notice. More »

National Parks Economic Symposium Slated for December 6

Joshua Tree National Park, in partnership with the Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and Twentynine Palms Chambers of Commerce and the Morongo Basin Regional Economic Development Consortium will host a half-day symposium on Tuesday afternoon, December 6. The National Parks Economic Symposium will highlight the unique economic relationships between national parks and their surrounding communities. The event is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Twentynine Palms Community Center, 74325 Joe Davis Drive, which is adjacent to Luckie Park in Twentynine Palms.

Subject matter experts from the National Park Service and academia, as well as local community leaders will address the demographics of national park visitors, visitor studies in the national parks, and the economic effects of national park visitors in communities that border national parks. The symposium has been designed to complement the sessions and presentations that will be the focus of the Western Governors Association meeting to be held in Yucca Valley on Wednesday, December 7.

The National Parks Economic Symposium is free to the public. For more information call Joshua Tree National Park's 75th Anniversary Coordinator George Land at 760-367-5507.

Draft Symposium Agenda:

1:00 Welcome by Owen Gillick, Master of Ceremonies

1:05 Opening Remarks by Joshua Tree National Park Superintendent Mark Butler

1:10 Social Science Program Overview by Bruce Peacock, Chief, Environmental Quality Division, National Park Service

1:35 Human and Resource Landscape Integration by Bret Meldrum, Branch Chief, Visitor Use and Social Science, Resources Management and Science Division, Yosemite National Park

2:00 Title to be Determined by Maureen Snelgrove, Deputy Director, San Bernardino County Representative

2:25 Break

2:35 Yucca Valley, 20 Years Young and Still Growing by Mark Nuaimi, Yucca Valley Town Manager

3:00 Joshua Tree National Park and the City of Twentynine Palms, A Value Added Partnership by Richard Warne, Twentynine Palms City Manager

3:25 Economic Variables & Money Generation Model by Daniel J. Stynes, Professor Emeritus, Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation, & Resource Studies, Michigan State University

3:50 Wrap Up by Mark Butler

Did You Know?

Desert Tortoise

The reptiles of Joshua Tree National Park include one tortoise, 18 lizards, and 25 varieties of snakes. More...