As firefighters finally made progress on California's largest wildfire of the year, national park officials and ecologists are preparing for irreversible habitat losses.
“We’ve lost a huge area of native vegetation,” said Debra Hughson, deputy superintendent for the Mojave National Preserve. “A lot of pinyon [pines], junipers gone forever, and a lot of the Joshua trees, likely.”
This is so heartbreaking. That ecosystem is so much more fragile than it seems. I wonder if replanting would help in this instance, or if it would be too difficult/expensive.