Who’s buying up land around Joshua Tree National Park? And why?
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Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your Monday.
- What we know about secretive land buys in Joshua Tree National Park.
- “Built to burn”: L.A. let hillside homes multiply without learning from past mistakes.
- Two transgender athletes navigate teen life on the front lines of a raging national debate.
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper.
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Who’s buying up land around Joshua Tree National Park? And why?
In 2021, a mysterious real estate investment firm started buying up desert land within Joshua Tree National Park. Fast forward to now and the group has acquired more than 100 acres in and around Whispering Pines in unincorporated San Bernardino County.
But who are these stealthy buyers, and what do they plan to do with the mostly unspoiled land in one of the most popular national parks in the U.S.?
Times reporters Alex Wigglesworth and Lila Seidman set out to answer those questions, poring over public records related to the Connecticut-based Darkhorse Tactical Investments.
Those records show that several individuals linked to the land buys have ties to the hotel and hospitality industry, leading some to speculate that there are plans to build lodgings in the area.
Unlike other highly visited national parks, Joshua Tree has only campgrounds within its borders.
“But the prospect of any development in the area has raised fears of environmental degradation and water table depletion in one of the most ecologically sensitive corners of the park,” my colleagues wrote in their Times subscriber exclusive story. “At an elevation of roughly 4,600 feet, the Whispering Pines area is considered a climate refuge where certain plants and animals may be able to survive even as the surrounding environs become too hot and dry.”
Residents and environmentalists worry that potential luxury hotels or homes would siphon off water from local wildlife and that more humans on the land would only increase the risk of fires sparking in the hot, dry environment.
High-priced parcels and construction activity
Most of the land Darkhorse acquired was purchased through limited liability corporations based in Delaware. Records showed the 22 parcels sold to the firm totaled more than $2.9 million — considerably more than their assessed values.
Alex and Lila noted one 5-acre lot was bought for $225,000 in 2022 and last sold for $6,000 in 2004. The parcel had been assessed at $8,199 in 2023.
Nearby residents report a slate of construction projects in the area in recent years, including well drilling, road widening and the installation of a factory-built cabin on one lot.
Walter Marienschek, owner of North American Drilling in Yucca Valley, told Lila and Alex he drilled a well on one of the properties in 2022 and was later asked to drill more. But he later cut ties with the landowners after they would not disclose the intended use of the wells.
“These guys are hush-hush and secretive,” Marienschek told my colleagues, “like they’re in a spy agency or something.”
Darkhorse goes dark
Lila and Alex used public property records that linked several of the limited liability corporations that bought parcels in Whispering Pines to Peter Nawara, listed online as a managing partner of Darkhorse. Two other partners, John Woodruff and Saheer Mathrani, declined to comment.
“Since receiving media inquiries about their affiliation with Darkhorse, all three partners have either deleted their LinkedIn pages or removed references to the firm,” Alex and Lila wrote.
Not a single person involved in the land purchases who have ties to the hotel and hospitality industry was willing to speak with them.
You can read about Whispering Pines, the secretive corporations and more in Alex and Lila’s subscriber exclusive story.
Today’s top stories
Super Bowl LIX
- Compton’s own Kendrick Lamar brought “Not Like Us” to the Super Bowl halftime show.
- Jalen Hurts and the Eagles dominated Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to win Super Bowl LIX.
- For Super Bowl broadcasters, game “boards” are an indispensable booth secret.
Reflection, criticism and ideas after L.A. fires
- “Built to burn”: L.A. let hillside homes multiply without learning from past mistakes.
- After critics blast a move to pay an L.A. wildfire recovery czar $500,000 for 90 days of work, he’ll do it for free.
- A study from UCLA found that Asian communities faced language barriers during the L.A. wildfires.
- Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara says wildfire victims should be paid without having to itemize the lost contents of their homes.
- Donations topped $650 million, and the question looms: How can it best be used for fire recovery?
- Cal Fire’s updated fire-hazard maps will double the area of locally managed land that must comply with safety codes.
- Could balloon-like water tanks help fight L.A.’s fires? A new concept is touted as a solution.
What else is going on
- A major atmospheric river storm is barreling toward California as forecasters warn to “prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”
- A 16-year-old was killed and five other people wounded in a shooting at a Woodland Hills mansion party.
- A new H5N1 bird flu variant was found in a Nevada dairy worker as new data show changes in the virus.
- Cuts to National Institutes of Health funding put medical research at risk, scientists say, raising concerns at UC and elsewhere.
- Gold, checks and Confederate money: A Postal Service supervisor pleaded guilty to $300,000 in mail theft.
- With Gaza war on hold, Hamas lets the world know it has not been defeated.
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Commentary and opinions
- Mark Z. Barabak: San Francisco is experiencing a political tremor — the rise of Democratic moderation.
- Robin Abcarian: Trump and Musk crippled our most important global aid agency. The consequences are grim.
- Mary McNamara: The TV ad is a dying art. This year’s Super Bowl proved it.
- Times editorial board: Out on the streets to count L.A.’s unhoused, volunteers learn far more than numbers can convey.
- Guest opinion: Trump’s Gaza plan echoes decades-old Israeli calls to expel Palestinians.
- Guest opinion: To protect transgender rights in the future, we must look to the past.
This morning’s must reads
Two transgender athletes are navigating teen life on the front lines of a raging national debate. “School is where the humanity of trans kids is most apparent, where their earnestness and fear are most palpable and where the sweeping pronouncements of people such as Trump about the supposed threat they pose can seem most alarmist and reductive,” The Times’ Kevin Rector writes.
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For your downtime
Going out
- 🧀 16 of the best cheese shops in SoCal for saying “I love you.”
- 🖼️ Artist David Hockney has a show in Palm Springs. You can visit his favorite L.A. haunts.
Staying in
- 🍗 Here’s a recipe for “original recipe” fried chicken tenders.
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A question for you: What’s a piece of advice that changed your life?
Robert Payton writes: “I was fortunate enough to hear a wonderful description of what it takes to be successful (in anything): ‘Be where you’re supposed to be. Do what you’re supposed to do. And don’t lie.’ Pretty simple and straightforward. Been using it since I heard it probably 30 years ago.”
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And finally ... your photo of the day
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.
Today’s great photo is from Californian Theo Moreno: a cherished beach on the Central Coast, somewhere between San Simeon and Cambria.
Theo writes: This is a “favored surf spot and a good place to bid adieu to the day. We call it ‘the dirt parking lot.’”
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Amy Hubbard, deputy editor, Fast Break
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