What you can do from where you are

Biological soil crust — the living skin of the desert — takes 50 to 250 years to recover from a single disturbance event. It is destroyed by foot traffic, off-road vehicles, grading and any ground disturbance that breaks the surface. Most project environmental reviews do not survey for it. Most mitigation plans do not address it. Protecting it requires knowing it exists and insisting that it be surveyed before any ground is broken.

• When reviewing a CEQA or NEPA document for a desert project, check whether the biological assessment includes a biological soil crust survey — if it does not, submit a comment requesting one
• Stay on designated trails in desert areas — a single footstep can break crust that took decades to form
• Report off-road vehicle use in closed desert areas to the Bureau of Land Management or California State Parks
• Ask your county planning department whether biological soil crust surveys are required for projects in desert habitat — if they are not, ask why

Illegal collection of native cacti — including barrel cacti, beavertail and other Opuntia species — removes mature plants that represent decades to centuries of slow growth from the landscape permanently. Collection is illegal on all public land in California. It is also illegal to collect from private land without the landowner's permission. The plants sold at some markets and online platforms were collected illegally. Demand drives collection.

• Report suspected illegal cactus collection to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at (888) 334-2258 or online at wildlife.ca.gov
• Do not purchase cacti from vendors who cannot document nursery propagation — ask for a certificate of legal origin
• Buy native cacti only from reputable native plant nurseries — the California Native Plant Society maintains a nursery directory
• If you see cacti being removed from public land, photograph the activity with location data and report it immediately

The most direct way to affect land-use decisions in California is to submit public comments on environmental review documents. CEQA and NEPA processes require agencies to respond to substantive public comments. A comment that identifies a specific gap in the biological assessment — transplantation success rates, biological soil crust surveys, cumulative fragmentation analysis — is more effective than a general objection.

• Search for active CEQA documents at the California Environmental Quality Act database
• Find federal projects through the EPA's Environmental Impact Statement database
• Contact your county planning department to ask about upcoming projects in desert or coastal habitat
• Attend public hearings for projects in your region — in-person testimony is part of the administrative record

Invasive grasses — particularly fountain grass, ice plant, giant reed and Bromus species — have altered the fire regime in coastal sage scrub and fragmented the habitat corridors that cactus wrens, California gnatcatchers and coastal horned lizards depend on. Removal is ongoing work that requires sustained effort. Native plant restoration following removal is essential — bare ground is quickly recolonized by invasives.

• Volunteer with your local chapter of the California Native Plant Society for coastal habitat restoration — cnps.org
• Remove fountain grass, ice plant and giant reed from your property if you live near coastal sage scrub — these plants spread into adjacent habitat
• Contact the California Coastal Commission about habitat restoration projects in your region — coastal.ca.gov
• Support the Coastal Sage Scrub Restoration Program through your local land conservancy or open space agency

Intact desert and coastal habitat in California is managed by a combination of federal agencies, state agencies, land trusts and private landowners. Conservation easements, habitat restoration and invasive species removal are ongoing needs across the state.

• Contact the Mojave Desert Land Trust about conservation opportunities in the eastern Mojave — mojavedesertlandtrust.org
• Support the Desert Tortoise Council's work on desert habitat protection — deserttortoise.org
• Plant native cacti and desert plants in residential landscapes — beavertail, coastal prickly pear and other native cacti support pollinators and create habitat corridors
• Replace lawn with native plants — many California water agencies offer rebates for turf removal and native plant installation

Rights-of-nature legal frameworks are being developed and tested in jurisdictions around the world. In California, several efforts are underway to establish legal standing for specific ecosystems. Supporting these efforts — through public comment, legal advocacy and political engagement — is one way to advance the principles CACactus covers.

• Follow the work of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund on rights-of-nature ordinances — celdf.org
• Support the Earth Law Center's work on legal rights for ecosystems — earthlaw.org
• Contact your state legislators about rights-of-nature legislation in California
• Engage with Indigenous-led rights-of-nature efforts in your region — many California tribes have long-standing frameworks for the rights of the living world