California cactus thefts a prickly problem

The city of Palm Desert is being plagued by an epidemic of cactus theft, according to staff writer David Kelly in today’s Los Angeles Times.

Hundreds of the coveted barrel cactuses have been uprooted from all over the upscale community and resold to nurseries and landscapers.

Now authorities are fighting back by training surveillance cameras on city landscapes studded with the squat cactus and implanting them with microchips to better track them when stolen.

Over the last six months, Palm Desert has lost $20,000 worth of the golden barrel, which have shallow roots and pull out easily.

Stealing desert plants is a time-honored tradition in California. Joshua Tree National Park got its start because environmental activists were so appalled at the rampant cactus theft going on in the Mojave. Saguaro National Park has lost dozens of the federally protected saguaro cactuses and will soon microchip those that remain.

Palm Desert's problem comes as it tries to convert from over-watered grass and fake turf to a landscape more in tune to its desert environment.

-- David Kelly

Photo: Lt. Frank Taylor of the Palm Desert Police Department stands among freshly planted golden barrel cactuses at the Henderson Community Center. Surveillance cameras monitor large concentrations of the cactuses. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times