With the ecosystems at the country’s 63 national parks as diverse as the arctic and alpine tundra on one end and semi-arid desert and pinyon-juniper woodlands on the other, people will travel very far to experience vistas and flora not found anywhere else.
Located in southeastern California on the borders of both the Mojave and Colorado deserts, Joshua Tree National Park attracted over 3.2 million domestic and international travelers in the last year for which the numbers were published. Visitor numbers have risen steadily throughout 2024, and the park has been exploring ways to mitigate the impact.
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A real estate company has been buying lots within the boundaries of Joshua Tree National Park.Â
Real estate firm behind mysterious land purchases at Joshua Tree National Park
As all national parks are designated federal lands, owning land for both personal and commercial purposes is generally not permitted or in rare cases limited to specific lots and very stringent regulations. Joshua Tree currently has no hotels or accommodations other than the designated campsites.
But a new investigation by the Los Angeles Times shows that this could be changing under murky circumstances. The Whispering Pines area spanning approximately two miles is within park boundaries and is privately owned. As a result the land is being increasingly eyed by developers.
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Via public records, LA Times journalists found that at least 20 individuals and entities all linked to Connecticut-based real estate firm called Darkhorse Tactical Investments have quietly purchased more than 22 parcels equaling 100 acres around Whispering Pines since 2021.
“Several of those involved in the land purchases have ties to the hotel and hospitality industry, the records show,” Alex Wigglesworth and Lila Seidman write. “All of them either declined to talk to The Times or didn’t respond to requests for comment.”
Whispering Pines has a few cabins left behind from when they were built many decades ago but most have been largely destroyed by years of wildfires, floods and exposure to other natural elements; at the moment, the area is largely an open piece of land that insiders say would be extremely attractive for hotel owners and developers interested in charging premium prices.
‘There’s somebody going out there just because they have a bunch of money’
The purchases were followed by construction that has now advanced enough to catch the attention of — and, in many cases, cause alarm to — many locals and frequent park visitors.
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Lori Portillo, a resident of the nearby Yucca Valley who once owned a few of the lots at Whispering Pines before selling them off, said that construction trucks and cars carrying towing equipment have been going back and forth on the road around Whispering Pines that is closed to the public. Some work crews have already begun widening and grading the road which local environmental activists say poses a danger to animals like the desert tortoise and bighorn sheep as well as the famous Joshua trees after which the park is named.
“There’s somebody going out there just because they have a bunch of money and don’t care about the area and are making a big widened road just because they want to,” Portillo said to the Los Angeles Times.
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