the poaching continued well into the 1930s, when Franklin Roosevelt signed the proclamation that made Joshua Tree a protected national monument. There was even an ordinance passed that prohibited the transport of desert plants on county highways, but that was about as effective as the ordinance that prevents people from transporting marijuana on public highways, so. This wasn't just like the occasional family that was doing this, either - the problem got so bad that in some places the sheriff would post guards at popular poaching sites to try and prevent the total decimation of native plant populations. Anyway, according to USA Today, people used to drive out to the Joshua tree and other parts of the Mojave desert to dig up succulents like yucca and barrel cactus so they could plant a nice little drought-proof garden in their suburban yards. People liked to landscape with cacti, which makes sense because it's not exactly good practice to plant a lawn in a land without water, although try telling that to suburban Los Angeles in 2020. In the early 20th century, cactus poaching was actually a really big problem in southern California.
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The park's history is full of tragedy, and if you were superstitious you might even say the place is cursed. These digital albums were accompanied by new. Also included in the set were several rare recordings that were grouped together as albums. The set retailed for 149.99 in the US, and a 50 coupon for the set was included in U2 Edition iPods which had also gone on sale in November 2004. So that's all nice and religious and everything, but Joshua Tree National Park is hardly holy or devout or any of those other religiousy qualities that the Mormons were thinking about when they named the tree. The initial launch of the set included 446 songs. They thought the twisted, eerie looking things resembled the biblical Joshua, with his arms stretched towards the promised land. Joshua Tree is in the Mojave Desert, the only place on Earth where you'll find the giant yucca plants called "Joshua Trees." According to legend, the Mormons named these trees when they passed through the area in the mid 19th-century. Joshua Tree National Park is more than just the cover of that one U2 album - it's got death, despair, stifling heat, and a dark and sinister past. Sure, Yellowstone has geysers and moose and that volcano that might actually destroy the entire planet at some point, and the Grand Canyon has that big, gaping hole in the ground that's pretty cool, but there's a lesser-known park down at the bottom of California that's got a few things to recommend it, too.