Joshua Tree National Park Proposed Wilderness Additions
 Managing agency: National Park Service, Joshua Tree National Park
Size: Approximately 36,672 acres.
Location: Several units in the southwest and northeast portions of the park.
Highway access: From Hwy 10, just east of Palm Springs, take 62 north to Joshua Tree. Enter park from Park Blvd.
Description: Joshua Tree National Park attracts visitors from around the world who come to witness this desert wonderland. What they see are beautiful rock formations, amazing spring flower displays, wildlife, and Joshua Tree forests. The winter visitor may experience Joshua Tree National Park blanketed by snow.
By increasing the park's wilderness areas, the integrity of the park will be increased. This will help ensure that Joshua Tree will remain a place of wonderment for present and future generations to visit, and remain a sanctuary for the region's plants and animals.
The potential Pinto Basin wilderness addition is a 400-acre parcel of former state land that was on the perimeter of the former Joshua Tree National Monument. Previously, it was omitted from wilderness designation because of location and ownership rights. After Joshua Tree was designated a National Park in 1994, both the park boundaries and the wilderness area expanded, and this small parcel became a small island within the existing wilderness. There are no reasons for continued exclusion.
The potential Pleasant Valley wilderness addition is 2,400 acres of formerly private land that includes part of the Hexie Mountains and the Pleasant Valley area of Fried Liver Wash. The area is easily accessed via the Geology Tour Road and is a backcountry sign-out board on the proposed boundary. This is a very scenic area of the park and has many unique geologic features. Originally excluded from prior wilderness designations because of private ownership, present federal ownership qualifies Pleasant Valley for wilderness.
The potential Cottonwood Springs wilderness addition is located just northeast of the Cottonwood Springs nature trail and is also accessed via a primitive trail between Cottonwood Springs and the Conejo Well. This area is perfectly suited for wilderness designation.
The potential Lost Horse Valley wilderness addition is one of the most popular areas within the park and is crossed by the California Riding and Hiking Trail. Lost Horse Valley is very scenic with superb mountain views and abundant flora and fauna. It is also surrounded on three sides by existing wilderness. The area was previously excluded from wilderness designation because of old administrative roads and a limited water development. The roads have become primitive trails and the water development has been removed and is not going to be replaced.
The largest potential addition is the Cottonwood Mountains addition in the southwest area of the park. This remote and rugged area is a natural wonderland of canyons, ridges and rocky summits that are rarely visited by man and is inhabited by bighorn sheep, desert tortoise and other endangered and threatened species. access is preserved by "cherry stems" of both Pinkham Canyon Road and Berdoo Canyon Road.
These remarkable potential wilderness additions greatly enhance one of the finest national parks in the world and will help guarantee protection and conservation of wildlife and the enjoyment of future generations. They encompass unspoiled habitat for desert bighorn sheep and desert tortoise, as well as miles of hiking and riding trails with wilderness access.
For additional information, please contact:
Jeff Morgan
Sierra Club, San Gorgonio Chapter
Phone: (760) 320-4610
Email: jckmorgan@aol.com
Or:
Bryn Jones
California Wilderness Coalition
4065 Mission Inn Ave.
Riverside, CA 92501
(909) 781-1336
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Just three miles off of Interstate 80, 
