The National Parks Conservation Association, a Washington, D.C.-based conservation group, ranks Joshua Tree as one of the ten most endangered national parks in the United States.
Nitrogen Pollution
Air pollution, much of it originating more than a hundred miles (160 kilometers) away in Los Angeles, is a major problem. The park has recorded among the highest levels of ozone pollution of any U.S. national park. Summer visitors have complained that views are sometimes so smog-choked that they cannot see the surrounding San Gorgonios Mountains.
The desert floor is also receiving its share of nitrogen pollution, according to environmental experts.
Automobile emissions contain nitrogen, some of which is converted to nitrate or nitric acid, the form of nitrogen that is used by plants as fertilizer. This process, called nitrogen deposition, appears to have increased the productivity of invasive plant species in Joshua Tree National Park—at the expense of the desert's native plants.
"Nitrogen deposition occurs at high levels in southern California and is fertilizing our wildlands," said Edith Allen, a biologist at the University of California, Riverside. "While growers and gardeners may appreciate this free fertilizer, it promotes the growth of weedy species in our forests, shrublands, deserts, and grasslands."
"The invasion of weeds is a huge problem for maintenance of our fragile biodiversity, which is already impacted by development," said Allen, who is leading a major research project investigating the impact of nitrogen on California's wildlands, including Joshua Tree.
The most problematic invasive species in Joshua Tree is a weedy grass that not only kills native plants and animals but also serves as fuel for wildfires in the dry season.
Nearly a fifth of the park's Joshua trees have been lost to fires. The trees can live for hundreds of years, and it takes a century to replace just one.
Drum Circle
Radnich, the Celestial Rhythms organizer, says some people are not aware of the environmental problems facing the desert, because "they think it's all barren."
He said he "wanted to get attention and build environmental awareness by creating an event that reaches out to people … while still creating a sense of entertainment."
For the concert, audience members will be shuttled into a secluded amphitheater nudged into a canyon where they will join in a 200-person drum circle led by percussionist Paulo Mattioli, who has performed with artists such as Sting.
"There's no better place for this event," said Radnich. "This is the most creative landscape in the world."
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