Under the WJTCA Hazard Management Permit, CDFW is only able to authorize trimming of living WJTs, not removal. You may submit an application to trim a living WJT that indicates which limb or limbs to be removed meet one of the following conditions:
- Has fallen over and is within 30 feet of a structure;
- Is leaning against an existing structure; or
- Creates an imminent threat to public health and safety
The trimming of a live WJT may not result in the mortality of the tree (i.e., trees cannot be trimmed to the ground so no live branches are remaining).
To trim or remove a hazardous WJT on your property you should visit the How-to-Guide under our permitting page to determine if you qualify for a WJTCA Hazard Management Permit. A permit may be issued to a property owner under certain circumstances. A qualified desert native plant specialist is required to assist with removal or trimming of live trees. Visit WJT Permitting page to learn more about hazard tree permits.
The permit must be completed by the property owner. If the tree is on county or city property you will need to report it to the city or county so they may request a Hazard Management Permit.
Yes. The WJTCA Hazard Management Permit (HMP) allows you to apply for a single permit to manage multiple WJTs and management needs on your property as long as the trees meet the HMP qualifying conditions. Your permit application must include photographs of the WJTs that visually depict the dead tree(s) and/or the tree(s) to be trimmed.
There are no fees associated with applying for a WJTCA Hazard Management Permit.
Under the WJTCA, a desert native plant specialist is defined as an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), or an individual with at least five years of professional experience with relocation or restoration of native California desert vegetation. Certified arborists can be found on ISA's Find an Arborist site (treesaregood.org). A professional native California desert plant relocation or restoration specialist can usually be found working for landscaping companies or environmental consulting firms throughout Southern California.
Western Joshua Tree Hazard Management Permits
- If a western Joshua tree creates an imminent threat to public health and safety, the department will issue a permit allowing for the removal or trimming within 10 days of receipt of a request for a permit.
- If a western Joshua tree has fallen over and is within 30 feet of a structure or is leaning against an existing structure, the department will issue a permit allowing for the removal or trimming within 30 days of receipt of a request for a permit.
WJTCA Incidental Take Permits do not have any statutory timelines. CDFW will process the applications as expeditiously as possible.
There is no limit to the number of WJTs that can be taken under a WJTCA permit through CDFW.
There is a limit to the number of trees that can be taken associated with a WJTCA Incidental Take Permit through a delegation agreement with a city/town/county. Under those permits, a project can take no more than 10 individual trees on the project site for construction of a single-family residence, multifamily residence, or accessory structure, or no more than 40 individual trees on the project site where a public agency proposes a public works project involving the erection, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement of any public structure, building, road, or other public improvement of any kind.
CDFW is responsible for issuing permits for take of WJT under the WJTCA. CDFW may enter into an agreement with a county or city to delegate to the county or city to authorize the removal or trimming of dead WJTs, trimming of live WJTs, and removal of WJTs associated with developing single-family residences, accessory structures, and public works projects. If you have a project falling into those categories, please check with your county or city to see if they have entered into an agreement with CDFW to issue permits. If so, please work with your local city or county to obtain permit guidance. If your local county or city has not entered into an agreement with CDFW to issue permits, or if your project does not fall into those categories, please contact CDFW for permitting guidance.
You are also responsible for complying with all other federal, state, and local laws and regulations that are applicable to your activities. If obtaining your permit through CDFW, please check with your city or county, as they may have additional ordinances or rules relating to WJT.
Applicants may choose to obtain a permit through a city/county, if a delegation agreement is in place and their project meets the parameters for delegated agreements or go through CDFW. However, there may be some benefits to choosing a city/county permit such as a reduced mitigation fee, depending on the location of your project.
The WJTCA continues the existing prohibition on importation, export, take, possession, purchase, or sale of any WJTs in California unless authorized by CDFW. You can report any violations of the WJTCA through the CalTIP Program.
Joshua tree range map. (PDF version)
In the wild, western Joshua trees are geographically separated from eastern Joshua trees, hence, their name. The map below shows the natural range of each species.
Western Joshua trees typically have a distinct central trunk that usually branches higher off the ground than eastern Joshua trees. Additionally, a western Joshua tree may have clonal growth from the base of the trunk and be more bush-like in appearance. On western Joshua trees, the first branches usually split between 3-10 ft from the ground whereas eastern Joshua trees usually branch below 3ft. Western Joshua trees have slightly larger leaves compared to eastern Joshua trees. The flower characteristics also differ between western and eastern Joshua trees. Western Joshua tree flowers are more spherical, the tips of flower petals curve inwards, and are a cream color. Eastern Joshua tree flowers are more bell-shaped, the flower tips curve outward at full bloom, and can be a slightly greenish to cream color.
If you are unsure what kind of Joshua tree may be within your project footprint, please contact a Desert Native Plant Specialist for assistance.
Yes. The species will retain its candidate status until the California Fish and Game Commission formally votes to list WJT as endangered or threatened under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA), or to deny the pending listing petition. However, important state law options now exist pursuant to the WJTCA.
While the WJT is a candidate species, WJT take permitting options are available under the WJTCA, CESA, and the NCCP Act. If the Commission later determines that listing the WJT as endangered or threatened pursuant to CESA is warranted, the WJTCA will become inoperative and the authorization of take of a WJT will only be allowed under CESA or pursuant to the NCCP Act. However, regardless of CESA status, the WJT Conservation Plan will continue to guide conservation of this species, CDFW will remain committed to co-management of the species with California Native American tribes, and the WJT Conservation Funds will be used for acquisition, restoration, and other conservation actions for the benefit of WJT.
Yes. On April 21, 2022, CDFW submitted a WJT status review report to the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) evaluating whether listing the species as endangered or threatened under the California Endangered Species Act would be warranted. Under the WJTCA, CDFW must prepare and submit an updated status review to the Commission by January 1, 2033, unless the Commission directs CDFW to complete it sooner.
Importantly, for that future update, the WJTCA requires CDFW to incorporate any new scientific information and include an evaluation of the impact of any conservation and management efforts. This means implementation of the unique attributes of the WJTCA approach such as in-lieu fee, delegation of local authority, permitting streamlining, and landscape conservation will all be factored into any future management decisions by the Commission.
The WJTCA effectively creates an implementation period for everyone to work together to conserve the tree, implement the conservation plan, and illustrate the efficiencies of the streamlined, unique permitting mechanisms like in-lieu fees and local government delegation.
The WJTCA is a California law proposed by the legislature and enacted in July 2023. The WJTCA establishes new permitting systems to authorize both take of western Joshua tree (WJT) and the trimming and removal of live and dead WJT, creates a fund to acquire high quality WJT habitat, and directs CDFW to develop a conservation plan with input from governmental agencies, California Native American tribes, and the public. Learn more about the WJTCA.
Required by the WJTCA, the Conservation Plan provides a set of management actions to conserve the species in California. The management actions include guidance to avoid and minimize direct and indirect impacts to WJT, land conservation and management strategies, tribal co-management objectives, research and information gathering that will help inform future conservation, and an approach to provide public education and awareness on WJT conservation issues. Learn more about the Conservation Plan.
The WJTCA requires CDFW to develop the Conservation Plan but the Conservation Plan does not add additional laws. Avoidance and minimization measures in the Conservation Plan are recommendations and not legal requirements.
During the development of the Conservation Plan, CDFW held three public outreach meetings on April 4, 2024, July 11, 2024, and March 10, 2025. During these meetings, CDFW presented potential management actions and solicited feedback from the public. The public was also invited to provide their own management actions. All comments and suggestions were considered. CDFW held a second-round of outreach meetings with local governmental officials, state and federal governmental officials, non-profit governmental organizations, and industry stakeholders. CDFW also received and considered all comments that were submitted to the Fish and Game Commission. CDFW is required to consult with tribes per the WJTCA and CDFW Tribal Communication and Consultation Policy. CDFW plans to continue public outreach for continued implementation of the WJTCA and for ongoing required updates to the Conservation Plan.
CDFW met with public water agencies as well as government agencies and private groups that manage land or have authority over portions of the WJT range to discuss their projects and concerns and to gather input on the Conservation Plan. CDFW is committed to continuing collaboration with local agencies to conserve WJT.
The WJTCA requires CDFW to meet certain conditions to authorize take of WJT. The WJTCA states the permittee must avoid and minimize impacts to, and the taking of, WJT to the maximum extent practicable, and the permittee must mitigate impacts to, and taking of, WJT (Fish & G. Code § 1927.3, subd. (a)).
The Conservation Plan includes recommended avoidance and minimization actions (see section 5.2.1). Those actions in the Conservation Plan are not requirements. The avoidance and minimization actions in the Conservation Plan may be incorporated into an incidental take permit; however, they will be modified and applied as necessary on a site- and project-specific basis based on the potential impacts for the project activities. Actions that are incorporated into a take permit are required to be adhered to by the permittee.
If projects are designed in a way that fully avoids impacts to WJT, a permit from CDFW would not be required. Minimization measures decrease the amount or severity of impacts to WJT but do not eliminate the impacts. Implementing minimization measures may result in take and may require a permit.
Incidental take permits are developed individually for each project and include avoidance and minimization measures specific to each project’s location and evaluation of the impacts from the proposed activities.
Yes, digging or trenching near a WJT may harm the WJT or lead to the death of the WJT. Using an appropriate buffer can help avoid impacts to a WJT. The WJTCA required CDFW to develop relocation guidelines and protocols and allows CDFW to require relocation as a permit condition.
Relocation of WJT can be successful, but even with the best equipment, proper timing, and sufficient aftercare, some tree mortality is expected. There is no method that guarantees 100 percent relocation success, but relocation of WJTs has been shown to work and is another way to help conserve the species. This is why relocation is viewed as a minimization measure, rather than a substitute for mitigation through the payment of fees. For more information on relocation, see CDFW Relocation Guidelines and Protocols (August 2025).
Yes, on-site tree relocation is preferred by CDFW. If on-site relocation is not an option, the CDFW Relocation Guidelines and Protocols recommend identifying a recipient site that is 15 meters from a previously existing western Joshua tree.
The WJTCA describes the fees and the boundaries of the two fee areas (Fish & G. Code § 1927.3, subds. (d) & (e)). The WJTCA also states each stem or trunk arising from the ground “shall be considered an individual tree requiring mitigation, regardless of its proximity to any other western Joshua tree stem or trunk” (Fish & G. Code § 1927.3 subd. (b)).
Map illustrating in-lieu fee structure
The WJTCA states that the permittee must avoid and minimize impacts to, and the taking of, WJT to the maximum extent practicable, and the permittee must mitigate impacts to, and taking of, WJT (Fish & G. Code § 1927.3, subd. (a)). Each project that impacts a WJT, even if the individual is left standing, may require take authorization and payment of in-lieu mitigation fees to the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Fund.
The WJTCA requires that CDFW adjusts fees annually for inflation in accordance with Fish and Game Code section 713 and section 1927.8, subdivision (b). The latter section also requires CDFW to adopt regulations by December 31, 2026, to adjust the fees as necessary to ensure the conservation of the species and amend those regulations every three years thereafter. The adoption and amendment of regulations is a public process that involves public review and comment. CDFW will provide more information to the public throughout the process to adopt a regulation for any fee adjustment. More information about the regulatory/rulemaking process and how the public can participate can be found the Office of Administrative Law’s website.
Under the WJTCA, mitigation is fulfilled through payment of the specified fee (Fish & G. Code § 1927.2, subd. (d) or (e)) into the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Fund. Fish and Game Code section 1927.5 states that the money deposited into the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Fund may be used “solely for the purposes of acquiring, conserving, and managing western Joshua tree conservation lands and completing other activities to conserve the western Joshua tree.” CDFW does not have the authority to disperse funds for purposes other than those specifically authorized by the Legislature.
It is not CDFW’s role to issue guidance on fire hardening of homes and communities. Our role is limited by statute to issuing permits for take and providing for the conservation of WJT. CDFW Regional staff are available to consult with individual homeowners to address specific wildfire concerns regarding western Joshua tree on their property.
Local arborists and biologists may help propose protective zones or avoidance plans. If a project may result in take, project proponents should reach out to CDFW with any avoidance plans developed by local arborists or biologists. The WJTCA requires that some actions (e.g., relocation) be carried out by a desert native plant specialist and defines such as “an arborist certified by the International Society of Arborists, or an individual with at least five years of professional experience with relocation or restoration of native California desert vegetation.” Local arborists and biologists may meet those qualifications.
WJT depend on their roots to survive. Activities such as trenching or creating impermeable surfaces on top of root systems (i.e., within an avoidance buffer) can limit the tree’s ability to absorb water from the soil leading to injury or death of the tree. Currently the best available science comes from a 2023 study conducted by Dr. Juniper Harrow at Prime Desert Woodland Preserve in the City of Lancaster (in submission). During the study, roots were carefully excavated and were found to extend 14 meters (45.9 feet) from the base of a 4.3-meter (14.1-feet) tall WJT and 8.4 meters (27.6 feet) from the base of a 1-meter (3.3-feet) tall WJT.
The use of no-disturbance buffers may be an effective way of avoiding take of WJT when underground parts are obscured. CDFW evaluates buffers on a project-specific basis and considers site-specific information when determining a buffer, including the density of trees, the location of a tree in relation to existing structures (i.e., fences, driveways, or other permanent structures), intensity and depth of the proposed activities, duration of the proposed impacts, additional minimization measures to reduce impacts of buffer encroachment, geographic location, and life stage of the tree (see page 5-11 of the Conservation Plan for details).
Citation: HARROWER, J. Reed College, unpublished data. WJT Root Study. Publication in submission.