VOA新闻杂志2024--California Proposes Plan to Protect Its Famous Joshua Trees

 

California Proposes Plan to Protect Its Famous Joshua Trees

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has released a proposed plan to protect the state's famous Joshua trees. Environmentalists say the trees are threatened by wildfires, human development and climate change.

An early version of the plan calls for avoiding or reducing direct and indirect effects of overgrazing, insect-killing¹ chemical use and off-roading activity. The plan advises moving trees when projects require their removal or could harm them. It also calls for identifying and protecting lands where the trees could survive if the climate in southern California becomes drier and hotter.

"In many ways, it's a good comprehensive plan of the things we need to do if the western Joshua tree is going to survive the very, very difficult decades ahead," said Brendan Cummings. He is conservation director with the Center for Biological Diversity based in Tucson, Arizona. The nonprofit group asked the California government in 2019 to list the western Joshua tree as threatened under the state's Endangered Species Act.

The conservation plan is a requirement by the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act. California lawmakers passed the act last year. It is the first law in the state to protect a species from the threats of climate change. The law also bars anyone from killing, damaging, or removing a tree without state permission.

The proposed plan lists ways to help identify land that should be recognized as most important for conservation. This includes large areas with Joshua trees or areas with a high density² of healthy and adult trees. The plan suggests placing restrictions³ on areas where there is low risk of such threats as fires, invasive plants and animals, development and where pollinators and seed-spreading animals exist. It aims to identify these lands by December 2025 and place permanent restrictions on 70 percent of them by 2033.

The plan also calls on land managers and wildfire workers to create methods to reduce and fight wildfires that threaten the trees and lessen⁴ effects from rehabilitating⁵ burned areas. That includes protecting trees, replanting them, planting other native species, and controlling invasive ones.

The proposed plan says, its effectiveness and the survival of the trees will mainly depend on whether reductions can be made in the release of heat-trapping gases. Such emissions⁶ come mainly from burning coal, oil and gas.

Cummings said climate change could destroy most, if not all, of the areas where the trees live if the situation does not change.

If emissions are limited as planned, Cummings said, "we have a very good chance of saving the species if all the things outlined in this plan are carried out. And primarily that's doing what we can to protect as many of them as possible."

Approval from California's Fish and Game Commission is necessary for the proposed plan to go into effect.

Words in This Story

over-grazing - n. the act of permitting animals to graze (an area, such as a field) to the point of damaging vegetational cover

off-roading - n. the activity of driving a vehicle in a place where there is no road

comprehensive - adj. covering completely or broadly

decade - n. a period of 10 years

pollinator - n. an agent (such as an insect) that pollinates flowers

rehabilitate⁷ - v. to restore or bring to a condition of health or useful and constructive⁸ activity

manager - n. a person who runs a business or organization

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

5 rehabilitating   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的现在分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• She was more concerned about protecting the public than rehabilitating the criminal. 她比较关心保护百姓，而不大关心改造罪犯。

6 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

7 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

8 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。