Park City Museum will host a lecture called The Deserts of the Wests: Then and Now given by Jim Cornett on August 7, 2024 from 5-6 p.m. at the Park City Museum Education and Collections Center located at 2079 Sidewinder Drive. More information can be found at www.parkcityhistory.org/events.

A just-completed research project shows how increasing aridity in the West is changing desert landscapes. Using repeat photography, ecologist James W. Cornett spent four years relocating historical photo sites and taking new photographs from identical perspectives.

The results of the “then and now” images are often striking, sometimes shocking. Cornett states, “In just a half-century, some landscapes experienced the vanishing of Joshua trees, the complete demise of cacti, or the shrinking of palm oases. Conversely, colder and higher altitude environments in Utah seemed to suffer less or rebound over time. This was particularly true of areas dominated by juniper shrubs and trees.”

Cornett relied heavily on vintage automobiles and old-time dress in historical images to date photographs. He tracked climate data from the past, recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to evaluate how the climate has changed, particularly from the 1980s onward. He then examined plants and vegetation changes and correlated those with climate parameters. His findings will be revealed in his presentation titled “The Deserts of the West: Then and Now.”

Cornett is the retired Director of Natural Sciences at the Desert Museum in Palm Springs, California. The Joshua Tree National Park Association sponsors his research. He most recently appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America and is the author of dozens of books, including Wildflowers of Park City and the Wasatch Mountains. His most recent publication, The California Deserts: Then and Now, will be on sale following his presentation.