Whitewater Preserve made a magnificient backdrop for celebrating 30 years of California Desert Protection with the Wildlands Conservancy on November 14, 2024. Under a canopy of autumn leaves with the caress of a gentle breeze, Sierra Club California/Nevada Desert Committee Chair, Joan Taylor, was presented the 2023 Minerva Hoyt Award before a rapt audience of over a hundred invitees. We were honored to be among them. This prestigious award honors individuals or organizations who have made exceptional achievements in leadership, protection, preservation, research, education, and stewardship, contributing significantly to the conservation of California’s deserts.
Minerva Hoyt was the most influential and ardent desert advocate of her era. Once considered a vast wasteland, Minerva’s dedication opened the pathway to a newfound appreciation for the desert ecosystem. In 1931, the Hoyt cactus (mammillaria hamiltonhoytea) was named after her. Without her leadership, Joshua Tree National Park might never have become part of the National Park System. She prepared the commission’s report on desert parks and recommended large parks be created at Death Valley, the Anza-Borrego Desert, and in the Joshua tree forests of the Little San Bernardino Mountains north of Palm Springs.
In 1994, Joshua Tree became an official national park. It had nearly all of those 290,000 acres restored as part of the national park status. In the 1980s, the United Nations also recognized this diverse transition area between the Mojave and Colorado deserts as a Biosphere Reserve; this includes Joshua Tree and Death Valley national parks.
“Spirit of the Desert” mural depicting Minerva Hamilton Hoyt by Cory and Catska Ench, 2004. Located at Joshua Tree National Park Headquarters. Photo credit: NPS/Robb Hannawacker
The special event opened with the Pai nic tem Bird Singers and Dancers giving a traditional Agua Caliente blessing. Featured speakers were a veritable who’s-who of staunch desert defenders. Frazier Haney (Executive Director, The Wildlands Conservancy), Jacqueline Guevera (Executive Director, Joshua Tree National Park Association), Brendan Cummings (Conservation Director, Center for Biological Diversity), April Sall (Co-founder, California Desert Coalition), Donald Medart Jr. (Councilmember, Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe), Darrel Mike (29 Palms Band of Mission Indians) and our own Mayor of Route 66, Jim Conkle. Jim knew Senator Feinstein very well, and said she often referred to him as her “bull dog” desert advocate.
Jim Conkle, 84 years old, gives his heartfelt congratulations and ongoing commitment for desert advocacy. Thank you for many years of promoting Route 66 and defending our deserts, Jim.
Frank Ruiz (District Director, Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz, 25th District, House of Representatives) and La Quinta Councilmember Deborah McGarrey also spoke and made appreciation award presentations. Jane Rodgers (Superintendent, Joshua Tree National Park), Ray McPadden (Superintendent, Mojave National Preserve), Judy Anderson and Vicky Hoover of the Sierra Club and James Kenna (Fmr. State Director, Bureau of Land Managment), presented appreciation awards to the 2023 Minerva Hoyt Award winner, Joan Tayor, whose dedication spans over five decades, during which she has volunteered tirelessly to preserve and protect the Colorado and Mojave Deserts.
Joan Taylor received an appreciation award from Frank Ruiz, District Director, Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz, 25th District, House of Representatives.
Record Searchlight Sun, Oct 09, 1994 ·Page 20
In December of 2010, trailblazing San Francisco Mayor-turned- U.S. Senator from California, Dianne Feinstein, a strong proponent for the Desert Protection Act, introduced a 170-page bill called the California Conservation Act of 2010 which fleshed out previous conservation acts for consideration to the Senate Energy and State Resources Committee, seeking to balance beauty and growth. The bill was spurred by conservation groups such as the Sierra Club, Wildlands Conservancy, Mojave Desert Land Trust, Defenders of Wildlife, The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Desert Mountains.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, June 22, 1933–September 28, 2023. Photo Courtesy: Jewish Women’s Archive
The Desert Sun Tue, Feb 02, 2010 ·Page 1
Senator Feinstein took further action. In 2015, the Senator urged President Obama to create national monuments. In February 2016, invoking the 1906 Antiquities Act, President Obama via executive order authorized the creation of the Sand to Snow National Monument, thrilling conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts who had long fought for the beloved landscapes to be protected from development.
The Sand to Snow National Monument stretches from the desert floor near Palm Springs to the peak of San Gorgonio, comprising 154,000 acres. The Mojave Trails Monument is larger, spanning 1.6 million acres and surrounding historic Route 66, between Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park. Senator Feinstein received the Minerva Hoyt Award in 2010.
Granddaughter of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Eileen Mariano (Manager of State and Federal Affairs, Office of Mayor London N. Breed, San Francisco), was presented with a framed oil painting of Bighorn Sheep, commemorating her grandmother’s tireless work in preserving the desert.
Eileen Mariano, granddaughter of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.
An al fresco luncheon in the natural splendor of Whitewater Preserve, cake-cutting, and hikes to the Whitewater River followed the awards ceremony. Whitewater Preserve is 2,246 acres surrounded by the Bureau of Land Management’s San Gorgonio Wilderness and includes the year-round Whitewater River.
Joan Taylor joins a distinguished list of past awardees who have made significant contributions
to desert conservation: 2004 – Susan Luckie Reilly; 2005 – Larry & Donna Charpied; 2006 – David Myers, The Wildlands Conservancy; 2007 – John Wohlmuth, Coachella Valley Association of Governments; 2008 – Mark Jorgenson, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park; 2009 – Dianne Feinstein; 2010 – Owens Valley Committee; 2011 – Elden E. Hughes (posthumously awarded); 2012 – Steve & Ruth Rieman; 2013 – Dee & Betty Zeller; 2014 – Desert Protective Council (Terry Weiner); 2015 – Nancy Karl; 2016 – Cindy Zacks; 2017 – Pat Flanagan; 2018 – Robin Kobaly, The Summertree Institute; 2019 – David Lamfrom, National Park Conservation Association; 2020 – Dr. Cameron Barrows; 2021 – Frazier Haney; and 2022 – Idavid Graficks.
Citations and Resources
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/feinstein-dianne
https://www.nps.gov/jotr/learn/historyculture/mhoyt.htm
https://wildlandsconservancy.org/preserves/whitewater