The MDLT works to protect high-priority areas in the Mojave Desert and promote stewardship and awareness of the unique environment. To date, the trust has conserved more than 60,000 acres of desert ecosystem through its work with partners such as the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Among the organization’s opportunities for community members to get involved are its desert salvage teams. Those involved in cleanup efforts meet both during the week and on weekends, usually in the early mornings, to collect refuse from desert land that the trust is restoring. The refuse is then sorted, and usable items are sold during MDLT’s recurring Salvage Saturdays events. Examples of items sold include vintage trailer doors and automobile parts, railroad ties, mattress springs, barbed wire, and a variety of other rusted metal pieces. Proceeds from the sale of the salvaged items benefit the trust’s conservation efforts.