Pictured above: Rock climbing in the park by Greg Lucker @climbing_captures.
As artists and wilderness explorers, our passion is to venture into the 63 American National Parks, photograph and document the wonder of these natural places, and share our enthusiasm for the parks and other natural wonders by creating original, high-quality poster art for our 63 Illustrated National Parks Collection. In our travels, we’ve also developed an immense appreciation for national monuments, which inspired the American National Monuments and Natural Wonders collection.
The national parks, monuments, historic sites, memorials, recreation areas, forests, and other BLM lands were created to preserve America’s natural beauty and cultural history, with each protected site representing a significant chapter in the great American story. Because we at Anderson Design Group strongly believe in preserving parks and natural and historic spaces for future generations to enjoy, we’re always looking for opportunities to support the conservancies, foundations, natural history associations, and friend groups that advocate for these invaluable places.
Pictured below: Rock climbing in the park by Greg Lucker @climbing_captures.
To raise awareness of the important advocacy and stewardship work the rock climbing community is doing in Joshua Tree National Park, we took time this week to sit down with John Lauretig, President of the Board of Directors of Friends of Joshua Tree, a rock climbing advocacy and park stewardship nonprofit.
Read on to learn how this group supports good stewardship and the climbing community in Joshua Tree National Park.
An Interview with Friends of Joshua Tree
ADG: How would you describe your group? How did the friends group get started?
John: In 1991, local climbers formed Friends of Joshua Tree (FoJT) to represent climbers’ interests in Joshua Tree National Park. The friend group was also one of the first organizations to support a search and rescue program when visitors got injured or lost in the park.
The dedication that first formed Friends of Joshua Tree continues today. FoJT advocates, communicates, and encourages ethical and environmentally sound climbing practices. We work to educate park management and visitors on climbing and climbing-related issues.
At its core, Friends of Joshua Tree began as local people organizing to take a cooperative approach to climbing and stewardship in the park. Climbers back in the 1990s were pretty new on the park recreation scene. There weren’t many rules or regulations governing rock climbing, and the Park Service wasn’t sure how to interact with climbers or regulate climbing activities in the park.
The creation of the friend group improved that relationship. Over time, Friends of Joshua Tree and the park worked together on climbing issues and related challenges. In fact, Friends of Joshua Tree was one of the first climbing organization in the country to have a memorandum of understanding with a national park. We still have those today, but now we call them general agreements. We just signed our general agreement with the park for the next five years.
ADG: What are some of your activities in the park?
John: We have a few. To start, basic ethical stewardship of the park is a preeminent focus of ours. We all need to be good stewards of our public lands. The parks have been underfunded and understaffed for a long time. And in recent years, the parks have seen huge amounts of visitation, and so the wear and tear is pretty severe. We advocate for Leave No Trace. Some climbing areas also close due to raptor nests, so we make sure the climbing community knows those areas are closed. The park also closes areas for archaeological reasons. We inform the climbing community and other visitors on how to use the park ethically and in a way that preserves it for generations to come.
We also run or are involved in a few programs, like:
Climber Stewards. We started this program in 2016 with one active part-time steward working in the Park. This agreement with JTNP now supports several in-season, part-time stewards working in the Park who help visitors practice desert-aware behavior, stay informed about recent Park updates like raptor closures, and not get lost. Climber Stewards represent the best the climbing community has to offer and frequently participate in stewardship projects with Park staff, as well as drum up and support other volunteer efforts.
Climber Coffee. If you came to visit us at Joshua Tree, probably our most routinely visible presence in the park is Climber Coffee. We host it every Saturday at 8:30 am at the Intersection Rock parking lot in Joshua Tree National Park during the climbing season. We’ve supported this program for over 10 years and are one of the original sponsors of Climber Coffee in the Park.
Trail Restoration. Friends of Joshua Tree works with the Access Fund and the National Park Service to establish and maintain trails in the park, and urges climbers and others to approach crags only via designated trails. FoJT musters a strong volunteer corps to make a positive impact on the Park’s myriad trails and damaged or sensitive natural areas.
Preserving a Litter-Free Desert Ecology. Climbing out in Joshua Tree means, in many ways, backcountry climbing. We want to enjoy nature at its best, and we have to take an active role in doing our part to keep it that way. Friends of Joshua Tree advocates Leave No Trace practices, urging climbers and others to respect the sensitive plant and animal life flourishing in the fragile desert ecology. Joshua Tree sits at the ecotone of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts, and at an average elevation of 3000 ft, is home to several endangered and unique flora and fauna that every visitor would want their great-grandchildren to experience firsthand. That means being sensitive and very gentle on the terrain wherever one goes. Friends of Joshua Tree urges climbers and others to pack out all trash and to use designated bathrooms whenever available.
Pictured below: Rock climbing in the park by Greg Lucker @climbing_captures.
ADG: We read that one of the biggest efforts your organization has been involved in is that of replacing bolts in the park’s climbing areas to improve climber safety. Can you tell us a bit about that?
John: Absolutely. The rebolting program is one of our biggest undertakings. Historically, Joshua Tree local advocates have contributed mightily to the safe replacement of fixed anchors in the Park. Friends of Joshua Tree established a professional rebolting program in 2026 to fully support the route maintenance needs within the Park, both inside and outside of designated wilderness areas. We ask climbers to report bad bolts so we can plan future work and apply for rebolting permits with the Park. We remind climbers that rebolting in JTNP needs to go through a lengthy special use permit process. Climbers should not attempt to tighten bolts without specialized knowledge and tools. I also want to take this moment to shout out the American Safe Climbing Association (Safe Climbing), as they’re the good folks donating all the hardware we’re using in the rebolting effort.
ADG: These are some great programs. Does Friends of Joshua Tree host events, seminars, or any hands-on community programming?
John: I’m glad you asked. We run a Gym to Crag program, which tours SoCal gyms to meet climbers face-to-face, answer questions, educate folks, and build relationships with key local climbing resources (including local ethics, safety protocols, Park services, and local cultural information). G2C has been running for close to 10 years, and as gyms expand and propagate through the region, so has interest in getting into the wild, vertical realm of the high desert. This program focuses on climber safety, protecting sensitive resources, and raising awareness of access challenges and healthy wild ecosystems in Joshua Tree National Park and beyond. Our vision is to build a corps of educated, informed climbers who will willingly step up to protect access to healthy desert ecosystems.
Our biggest annual program is undoubtedly Climb Smart. It’s the largest gathering of climbers at the park, with mini-clinics running all weekend long for every skill set and experience range imaginable. We have something for people who have never climbed before, and those who’ve climbed for decades. A line I always like to quote every year for Climb Smart goes something like this: “An attendee of Climb Smart will leave more experienced, better networked, psyched for climbing, and likely with some swag items, too.”
We’re also still involved with Joshua Tree Search and Rescue (SAR). A few rescues in the park involve climbing, so we are proud to support the park’s SAR team. Because of our Partnership with the Park and our 501(c)(3) status, we have become one of the official fundraising organizations for Joshua Tree Search and Rescue – JOSAR, and Climb Smart became our main fundraising event and a major source of support for JOSAR.
ADG: Why is supporting Joshua Tree National Park and the climbing community important to you?
John: I really like climbing and preserving public lands. I've been climbing for over 45 years and have lived in the High Desert for 26. I enjoy interacting with the climbing community. Joshua Tree is a world-renowned climbing destination, which adds to the fun. My background as a park ranger for the National Park Service also taught me the value of our public lands. I like being able to call upon the climbing community to advocate for park stewardship.
ADG: What do you think about our poster art of the national parks? Are there any designs we should add to our series to continue representing Joshua Tree National Park?
John: Your art is beautiful, and you capture the park’s landscapes very well. But I’d love to see designs that depict the wildlife we have in Joshua Tree: coyotes, roadrunners, tortoises, bighorn sheep, and, of course, rock climbers! The tortoises are hard to find. But people love them, even if they are elusive.
ADG: What’s on the horizon for Friends of Joshua Tree? Where do you see the organization in five or ten years?
John: We plan to have a Climbing Community Center one day in downtown Joshua Tree (the town, not the park). We want to include a museum element, a climbing element, retail, a coffee shop, a workout room, showers, a hostel, and RV hookups for van-life folks. This will be a central organizing hub for the climbing community, complete with events, slideshows, presentations, and other programming. It’ll be a place we can direct people to who are curious about climbing or who’d like to know more about how climbers can act as good stewards of our public lands.
ADG: One last question, if there was one thing about your group or about national park conservation/restoration/education generally that you’d want the broader public to know, what would that be?
John: I wish the general public would begin to see our national parks as giant museums. We need to treat them like they are museums that store prized, one-of-a-kind artifacts, because in reality, national parks store prized ecosystems essential to life on this planet. The parks are specific and unique, and, in many cases, one of a kind. We need to treat them like we would treat the Smithsonian or any other great museum. We need to be good stewards who fund and care for them long-term, not just short-term.
ADG: We couldn’t agree more, John. Thanks for chatting with us today!
John: Thanks for having me!
The Importance of Supporting Nonprofits Committed to Advocating for Sustainable Use of Our Public Lands
You can learn more about Friends of Joshua Tree on their website. If you want to support their work, you can donate to their campaigns. You can also attend their events, like Climb Smart, the organization’s biggest annual fundraiser and a great opportunity for individuals to experience the vertical world.
If you represent a natural history association, foundation, friend group, conservancy, or preservation association that works in any of the 63 American National Parks or the hundreds of national monuments and other NPS sites across the U.S., contact us today to set up an interview! Just email ren@andersondesigngroup.com.
In the meantime, we’ll get back to creating vintage poster art of the national parks. Let’s enjoy these beautiful, historic places and do our part to preserve them for future generations.
-Ren Brabenec
Anderson Design Group Staff Writer
