Great Falls Basin Potential Wilderness
 Managing agency: Bureau of Land Management.
Size: Approximately 7,900 acres.
Location: In the southern part of the Argus Range, northeast of the town of Trona, in Inyo County.
Description: Rising to almost 5,000 feet above Searles Dry Lake at Argus Peak, the range receives higher-than-average rainfall for the desert. There are several permanent springs, streams, and waterfalls, one of which gives Great Falls Basin its name.
The potential wilderness includes a great diversity of plant and animal communities. Pinyon-juniper stands are found in the upper elevations, but most unusual is the collection of cottonwoods and willows, species highly dependent upon the numerous springs in the area. In the riparian areas and the adjacent hillsides are small populations of the Inyo brown towhee, a federally listed threatened species. A prairie falcon eyrie is reported within the Wilderness Study Area, and turkey vultures nest here as well.
There might be an occasional bighorn sheep in the area, although there do not appear to be any bands. BLM comments that the herd is declining and requires special management. Deer populations are very likely. Quail hunting also occurs in the area.
The Wilderness Study Area is popular with wilderness-oriented recreationists, with several groups climbing the peaks in the area each year. The Wilderness Study Area was once designated as a primitive area in the El Paso Management Framework Plan. It is also an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, designated for its habitat, wildlife, and scenic values.
Great Falls Basin was retained as a Wilderness Study Area in
the California Desert Protection Act to address concerns of the operators of
an adjacent industrial facility, who feared that wilderness designation would
change the area's status from "Class II" to "Class I" under the federal Clean
Air Act, thus imposing further restrictions on air pollution. Wilderness designation
would have resulted only in designation of the area as Class II under the Act,
which would not interfere with continuation of activities at that facility.
Therefore, Great Falls Basin Wilderness Study Area is ready for wilderness designation.
For additional information, please contact:
Monica Argandoņa
California Wilderness Coalition
4065 Mission Inn Ave.
Riverside, CA 92501
(909) 781-1336 |
Just three miles off of Interstate 80, 
