The bizarre, spiked profile of the western Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) is a quintessential part of the Southern California desert ecosystem. Moreso, the western Joshua tree is central to the desert community both ecologically and culturally. However, the species’ future is uncertain, primarily due to habitat loss to human development in its range and effects of climate change. To protect this iconic species, on July 10, 2023, the California legislature passed the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act (WJTCA), which protects western Joshua tree from take, offers new permitting pathways to legally remove trees and creates a fund for the conservation of the species. The Act also requires the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop and implement a conservation plan. The multiple permitting pathways include incidental take permit options, which allows the applicant to pay a fee in lieu of traditional mitigation methods like land conservation, and a hazard management permit option, which allow homeowners to remove or trim trees that have fallen on or are close to a structure and constitute a hazard. This poster will summarize the new permitting options created by WJTCA and applicant resources associated with these options.