Death Valley National Park Potential Wilderness Additions
Managing
agency: National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management, California Desert District
Size: Approximately 57,680 acres.
Location: Southeast corner of Death Valley
National Park, and north of Fort Irwin and south of Death Valley National Park, in San Bernardino County.
Description: This remote and rarely visited area is characterized by rugged mountains.
 Vegetation
is typical of that found in the lower central Mojave desert. Three plant communities
are represented in the area: the Mojave creosote bush scrub, which is located
on alluvial slopes, the black brush scrub, which is located in similar areas,
and the Mojave saltbrush scrub, which is found primarily around dry lake beds.
Due to the diverse topography and vegetation, a variety of habitats
allows for co-existence of many wildlife forms. Among a variety of reptiles
and mammals found in this wilderness are two protected species, the desert tortoise
and desert bighorn sheep.
 Precipitation
varies from 3 to 8 inches per year, most occurring from December through March.
Approximately 40 percent falls during the summer months, usually July and August,
as locally intense storms. In winter, a short-lived blanket of snow may fall
in the higher elevations.
Temperatures range from 25 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Winds can
frequently exceed 30 miles per hour in most of this isolated wilderness.
 Due
to the vastness of the area, its isolation, and its rugged diversity of terrain,
opportunities for solitude are outstanding. The diverse topography offers unique
primitive recreation challenges including backpacking, hiking, and geological
and ecological research and study.
 The
Death Valley National Park Addition was not designated as wilderness in the
California Desert Protection Act based on concerns about the difficulties that
might arise in connection with the policing of the Fort Irwin boundary if the
adjacent national park lands were designated as wilderness. There were also
concerns expressed about the potential for a future Fort Irwin expansion into
the area. These issues have been resolved, clearing the way for this area to
be designated as wilderness.
For
additional information, please contact:
Monica Argandoņa
California Wilderness Coalition
4065 Mission Inn Ave.
Riverside, CA 92501
(909) 781-1336
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Just three miles off of Interstate 80, 
