Transition Habitat Conservancy

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Transition Habitat Conservancy

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A non-profit conservation organization located in the West Mojave Desert. Caring for the land goes beyond acquisition. Come out and visit us someday!

We utilize many tools and methods to steward the land so that it can be healthy and resilient into the future. In 2005 some women riding on their horses in Pinon Hills, California spoke about the wonderful natural paradise they were riding and hiking through. Concerned that urban development would soon destroy that that playground, they decided to unite and preserve the unique pinyon-juniper and Joshua tree woodland. As a result of this, and the desire of the community to create parks and preserve open space, Transition Habitat Conservancy began. Since then, we have established project areas within San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties, and have worked diligently to protect and improve habitat in the West Mojave. Pinon Hills has its own reserve now available to hikers and horseback riders but closed to motorized vehicles.

10/11/2026

Nature’s Maracas

Thanks to our exclusive partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Transition Habitat Conservancy volunteers were granted access to harvest vital seed pods at our Portal Ridge Wildlife Preserve lands!

Our crew had a blast shaking the pods, dancing, and collecting seeds to protect Joshua tree biodiversity for the future. Huge thank you to everyone who came out to help the desert!

10/08/2026

Western Joshua trees aren't actually "true" trees—they’re giant monocots related to asparagus that lack traditional wood or annual growth rings.

Instead of true wood, their fibrous structures utilize two distinct vegetative mechanisms to survive harsh conditions and regenerate after damage in some instances:

Clonal Sprouts: The plant sends up genetically identical shoots from its shallow underground root system. Because of this, an entire cluster of Joshua trees can be a single connected organism.

Crown Sprouts: When the upper foliage is destroyed by a wildfire or severe weather, dormant buds protected beneath the thick, fire-resistant bark activate to grow new green crowns directly out of the damaged trunk.

10/06/2026

The secret weapon against desert wildfires = Cows

One of our biggest hurdles at Transition Habitat Conservancy is combating the dry, invasive grasses that create dangerous fuel loads for wildfires.

Eastman Livestock is a local, family-owned business helping us tackle the problem naturally. Through targeted cattle grazing, these cows act as nature's lawnmowers, clearing out fire hazards while enjoying a nutritious, free-range feast.

Healthy land, a healthy herd, and a safer community. That's how agriculture meets conservation!

10/02/2026

Save The Date!

Instead of our usual October date, we will be gathering in the spring. Please mark your calendars for May 15th, 2027!

We are still finalizing the location and pricing details, so stay tuned—more information is coming your way soon. For now, just save the date and get ready for an amazing event! 💛

09/30/2026

We got special permission for this.

Because the Western Joshua tree is currently a Candidate Species, it receives the exact same strict legal protections as an Endangered Species while the State reviews its long-term status.

However, thanks to our exclusive partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Transition Habitat Conservancy volunteers were granted access to harvest vital seed pods at our Portal Ridge Wildlife Preserve lands!

These giant pods hold dozens of flat seeds containing 2.5 million years of evolutionary magic. Thanks to our community, they are now safely headed toward desert habitat restoration and genetic seed banking to secure a climate-resilient future.

While that exclusive harvest is now wrapped up, our mission to protect these fragile environments never stops. We need your help at our upcoming desert cleanup events to keep these habitats pristine and safe for native wildlife!

RSVP for this Saturday - where we will be restoring the Western Burrowing Owl habitat
transitionhabitat.org/events/antelope-flats-volunteer-cleanup

09/19/2026

Meet our team!

Some of our staff and board met in person for breakfast before our regular board meeting.

We're so thankful for the expertise of our volunteer board of directors, and hard working staff that handles day to day operations.

09/17/2026

The Western Joshua tree team is officially over.

Our Western Joshua tree team is now done for the season, but we wanted to give them their own shoutout post!

They worked for us all summer as seasonal bio technicians helping us to assess Joshua tree health. They explored in the heat of the desert, driving down dusty roads, encountering new plants and animals, and navigating rugged terrain. Their work directly contributed to THC’s goal of WJT conservation and they were a great team to work with!

Meet the Team: Ever Cook, Ingrid Hernandez Goll, Alana Dixon, and Isla Hanora.

Alana:

"My name is Alana and I'm from Louisiana which is quite different from the Mojave Desert. I loved nature back home, but only realized how much I enjoyed learning about local ecology while in California… Learning about how these surveys work was also so interesting- from the apps and cool gis layers to the details relevant for the person designing the surveys, getting to see a yucca weevil, and evidence of the other critters using these trees. My favorite thing to have learned may have been realizing the difference between the short basal rosette yucca & juvenile rosette-looking Joshua tree leaf clusters… I also learned how very cool and kind the staff here are and knew it would be a fantastic group to get to work with in any way."

Ever:

"Hi! My name is Ever, and I’m a senior at Pomona College studying Environmental Analysis, with a concentration in Geology. I joined the THC Western Joshua Tree team in search of a summer position relevant to my major. I’ve been increasingly interested in the Mojave Desert this past year, so I thought that conservation work would be the best place to learn more about it and get involved. So glad to have been a part of the team!"

09/15/2026

Highlighting our partnership with Eastman Livestock

Many people ask us:

Q: "Why not use sheep or goats?"

A: 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤! Every animal has its advantages. On this particular landscape, we use cows because they work better against large predators and are able to travel longer distances.

Using a targeted grazing approach, the land benefits from natural vegetation control, and the cattle enjoy a steady supply of nutritious forage.

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We highly recommend Eastman Livestock for your cattle needs. They are a tight knit family owned business. Since our success with 16 cattle last year, we have now increased our collaboration to 26 cattle!

09/12/2026

Antelope Flats Volunteer Cleanup

Join Transition Habitat Conservancy for a volunteer cleanup at Antelope Flats, a newly conserved 40-acre portion of the Portal Ridge Wildlife Preserve.

RSVP
transitionhabitat.org/events

Antelope Flats was conserved this year for Western Burrowing Owl habitat. These little owls rely on California ground squirrels and other burrowing animals to create the burrows they use.

During the cleanup, volunteers will help remove trash that was already present on the property before it was acquired, helping give this newly conserved habitat a fresh start.

Event Details

📅 Date: October 3, 2026
⏰ Time: 9:00 AM–1:00 PM
☕ Coffee: Come as early as 8:00 AM
📍 Meeting Location: Wee Vill Market
18348 W Ave D
Lancaster, CA 93536

Carpool leaves at 9:15 AM, and because Antelope Flats does not have a physical address, we'll meet at Wee Vill Market before heading to the cleanup property.

Help Give Antelope Flats a Fresh Start

Antelope Flats provides important habitat for the Western Burrowing Owl. By helping remove pre-existing trash from the property, volunteers can help care for this newly conserved wildlife habitat.

Come lend a hand and spend the morning with Transition Habitat Conservancy as we care for Antelope Flats.

We hope to see you there!

Questions?

Email Vern Biehl with any questions in advance.
[email protected]

09/10/2026

Last Saturday, we invited 60 guests to a biodiversity week event at Portal Ridge.

Starting with a short hike, guests enjoyed identifying the native plants with iNaturalist as well as some nature journaling.

As the sun set, Tekks★Treks 🥾 📷 prepared a moth sheet with a screen to display his macro photography.

Wendy assembled a projector underneath the pavilion.

We also had a telescope on-site for our "constellation station".

Many guests enjoyed finding scorpions with provided black lights.

By 11pm many guests had already went home while some chose to camp overnight.

How did you spend your biodiversity week?

Address

1681 Hillview Road #721300
Piñon Hills, CA
92372

Website

https://www.transitionhabitat.org/donate

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