Large-Scale Rare Earth Minerals Mining Planned to Abut Joshua Tree National Park

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 09: A common side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana) is seen in the Music Valley area where a large rare earth minerals mining is planned directly adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park on one side and the Pinto Mountains Wilderness Area on another atop critical habitat for endangered Mojave desert tortoises on April 9, 2026 near Twentynine Palms, California. The Trump administration is fast-tracking environmental impact reviews for mining on public lands, including on national preserves like the Mojave National Preserve. Environmental impact reviews for industrial mining formerly took 12 years to complete. They are now pushed through within a lightning fast maximum of just 28 days. Despite the objections of the National Park Service, scientists and numerous environmental professionals, the federal government is overriding local and national opposition and expanding existing threats to endangered species and fragile desert ecosystems. Joshua Tree National Park is internationally considered one of the nation's most beloved and iconic desert getaways. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)