Mojave National Preserve

2007 Business Plan

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Business Management Group

Mojave National Preserve

2007 Business Plan
Mojave National Preserve Business Plan

Fiscal Year 2007

Produced by

National Park Service

Business Management Group

Fall 2007

U.S. Department of the Interior

Washington, DC

Front cover: "Last Light on the Ivanpah Range"

Copyright ©2007 by Bob Killen, www.bobkillen.com

Inside front cover: View of Providence Mountains 

from Kelso Dunes. nps photo by craig phillips
mojave national preserve business plan I 1

Contents

National Park Service Mission Statement

The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the 

natural and cultural resources and intrinsic values 

of the National Park System for the enjoyment, 

education, and inspiration of this and future 

generations. The National Park Service cooperates 

with partners to extend the benefits of natural 

and cultural resource conservation, and outdoor 

recreation throughout this country and the world.

Introduction..............................................................................................................................2

Superintendent's Message.............................................................................................3

Executive Summary.............................................................................................................4

Preserve Overview...............................................................................................................7

Mission and History 7

Resources 7

Visitation 7

Preserve Map 8

Recreation 9

Impact on Local Economy 10

Current Operations........................................................................................................... 12

Resource Management 12

Interpretation and Education 13

Visitor and Resource Protection 15

Facility Operations and Maintenance 16

Management and Administration 17

Operational Priorities...................................................................................................... 20

Partnerships........................................................................................................................... 29

Volunteers 29 

Partner Contributions and Opportunities 31

NPS Centennial Initiative and Challenge 34

Land Acquisition 36

Financial Plan........................................................................................................................ 39

Appendix A: Scorecard Analysis 41

Appendix B: Financial History 42

Glossary of Terms 46

Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 48
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Introduction

The purpose of business planning in 

the National Park Service is to improve 

the ability of parks to more clearly 

communicate their financial status with 

principal stakeholders. A business plan 

answers such questions as: What is the 

business of this park unit? What are its 

priorities over the next five years? How 

will the park allocate its resources to 

achieve these goals? What can external 

stakeholders and partners do to support 

the park’s programs and operations?

The National Park Service business 

planning process is undertaken to 

accomplish three main tasks. First, it 

provides the park with a synopsis of its 

funding history. Second, it presents a clear, 

detailed picture of the state of current park 

operations and funding. Finally, it outlines 

park priorities and funding strategies 

moving forward.

A basic methodology is applied by all parks 

developing business plans, although the 

framework allows each park to highlight 

certain aspects of its operations that the 

management team feels are especially 

important. Activities are organized into 

five program areas that describe all areas 

of business for which a park is responsible. 

This allows the park to move beyond the 

traditional National Park Service method 

of reporting expenditures in terms of fund 

sources, and instead report expenditures 

in terms of activities. As a result, the park 

can communicate its financial situation 

more clearly to external audiences. 

Completing the business plan process not 

only enables a park to produce a powerful 

communication tool, but also provides 

park management with financial and 

operational baseline knowledge for future 

decision making.

Mojave Desert vegetation frames the view from 

Piute Trail. nps photo by dennis schramm

Mojave Desert vegetation frames the view from 

Piute Trail. nps photo by dennis schramm
mojave national preserve business plan I 3

Above: Mojave National Preserve Superintendent

Dennis Schramm. nps photo

Below right: Mariposa lily. photo by ben chemel

A Message From the 

Superintendent

The staff and I are pleased to present this business plan for 

Mojave National Preserve. This is the first such document 

prepared for the preserve since its creation in 1994. It is 

intended to provide you with information about the operational 

requirements of this 1.5-million-acre unit of the National Park 

System, as well as our vision and goals for stewardship of this 

large expanse of protected desert ecosystem. It will also improve 

our ability to measure the allocation of fiscal resources against 

operational needs resulting in a clearer picture of our fiscal health.

As a relatively new unit of the National Park System (since 

1994) the preserve base operating budget and staffing levels 

are still in a growth mode. Some aspects of the operation are 

close to the needed funding levels, while others (maintenance 

and interpretation, in particular) are still waiting for funding to 

operate their programs at the level required by the assets that 

we have to maintain and the visitor facilities that we operate. 

During the last several years, the overall federal budget has been 

relatively flat and achieving increases in base operations has been 

difficult. Therefore, we are several years behind where we should 

be in getting to our core operational funding levels. At the same 

time, we have been fortunate in the amount of donated funds we 

have received to acquire grazing permits and associated ranch 

property, as well as private land acquisitions. Several of these 

acquisitions have also brought the responsibility of maintaining 

cultural properties, housing, and other related assets. While 

these acquisitions have been important resource protection 

opportunities, they also have increased our maintenance 

responsibilities and costs. 

We are facing unprecedented threats from external developments 

that require attention from our staff to ensure protection of 

preserve resources during these project reviews. Climate change 

and increases in wildfires present resource challenges that are 

without precedent in recent history. Mojave National Preserve 

manages almost 800,000 acres of critical desert tortoise habitat 

and is a key habitat area for its recovery. The area is also rich 

in cultural resources that represent a long and varied human 

presence in the area.

Mojave has many existing partnerships and opportunities to 

work in concert with our neighbors and stakeholders to achieve 

protection of these unique desert resources for future generations. 

As we continue to engage our communities and stakeholders, 

additional opportunities for partnerships will emerge that will 

further the mission of the preserve. I hope you will read this plan 

as a stakeholder that has a vested interest in helping protect this 

great resource, and you will look for and foster opportunities that 

will help to achieve our common goals. 

Thank you for your interest and support of Mojave National 

Preserve.

Dennis Schramm

Superintendent
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Executive Summary

This business plan describes the financial and operational 

condition of Mojave National Preserve in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 

and provides insight into the preserve’s direction over the next 

five years. It is the result of an objective, in-depth look at Mojave’s 

historical trends, current operations, projected financial outlook, 

and management priorities. The plan is intended to communicate 

both the challenges and opportunities that will face Mojave 

National Preserve in the next five years.

Overview and Financial History

The Preserve Overview section and the Financial History 

Appendix examine trends and fluctuations in Mojave National 

Preserve’s annual visitation and funding. 

The preserve’s funding from all sources has grown from $1.3 million in FY 1996 to $5.9 million in FY 2007. From FY 2001 through 

FY 2007 Mojave’s Appropriated Base Funding, the most stable 

source of funds allocated by Congress, increased at an average 

annual rate of 3.6 percent. When adjusted for inflation, however, 

this increase amounts to an average of only 1.1 percent per year. 

In FY 2007 Mojave National Preserve had 541,000 visitors. In 

1993, the year before Mojave was designated a national preserve, 

visitation to the area was estimated at 250,000. The number of 

visitors to Mojave National Preserve has increased 42 percent 

over the past decade, with sharp increases from FY 1998 to FY 

Above: Kelso Depot. nps photo 2003 followed by a leveling off in the past five years. While overall 
mojave national preserve business plan I 5

Mojave National Preserve

five-year priority actions

Mojave National Preserve’s management 

team has articulated specific actions 

that each program area will pursue in 

the next five years. These specific goals 

are grouped under five preserve-wide 

priorities:

n Engage the public in park stewardship and foster an appreciation for 

the ecosystems and human history of 

the Mojave Desert.

n Provide visitor experiences that 

carry out the National Park Service 

mission, “...to conserve the scenery 

and the natural and historic objects 

and the wildlife therein and to provide for enjoyment of the same in 

such manner and by such means as 

will leave them unimpaired for the 

enjoyment of future generations.”

n Promote safety for both park staff 

and the visiting public.

n Protect the resources of the preserve.

n Promote energy efficiency and 

sustainable “green” practices in 

preserve facilities and management.

Many opportunities exist for the preserve to work with partners, and its management team sees these 

relationships as crucial to achieving the five-year goals it has articulated in this plan.

Lilac sunbonnet. USGS photo by david m. miller 

visitation has been flat recently, the population in surrounding 

counties is expected to double by 2030 and preserve staff is 

predicting an increase in visitation in the long term. 

Current Operations

In FY 2007 Mojave National Preserve operated with 51.5 fulltime equivalent (FTE) employees, including seasonal employees 

and interagency fire personnel. An FTE is equal to 2,080 hours 

of work per year. The preserve spent $3.6 million in FY 2007 for 

personnel salaries and benefits, and a total of $5.9 million overall. 

Mojave’s expenditures are grouped into seven areas: Resource 

Management, Interpretation and Education, Visitor and Resource 

Protection, Wildland Fire Management, Facility Operations and 

Maintenance, Management and Administration, and One-Time 

Charges/Non-Operations Activities.

Partnerships

Partnerships have been, and will continue to be, essential to 

Mojave’s operation. The preserve has a strong record of working 

with local, regional, and federal partners on projects ranging 

from fire management to trail construction and maintenance 

to educational programs in surrounding communities and land 

acquisition inside the preserve’s boundaries. 

Volunteer groups have become an important type of partnership 

arrangement, with members of local and national groups donating 

thousands of hours to projects within the preserve each year. 

Since FY 2000 the volunteer program has grown rapidly, with 96 

volunteers contributing 9,263 hours of work in FY 2007. This 

represents about one out of every twelve hours worked in Mojave 

National Preserve

Many opportunities exist for the preserve to work with partners, 

and its management team sees these relationships as crucial to 

achieving the five-year goals it has articulated in this plan.

Critical Themes

Throughout the business planning process, several key themes 

appeared:

Mojave National Preserve’s immense size and remote location 

make nearly all aspects of its operation both challenging and 

expensive. Fleet upkeep, contracting, and maintenance activities 

are all more expensive than at other national parks located 

closer to population centers. In addition, the remote location 

of Mojave National Preserve makes recruiting difficult, while its 

695,000 acres of designated wilderness create challenges for law 

enforcement, emergency medical services (EMS), and wildland 

fire response activities.

Mojave’s rich human history has created both opportunities 

and challenges for preserve operations. The area encompassed 

by Mojave National Preserve has been used at different times for 

mining, farming, cattle ranching, and railroad resupply operations. 

Features of these past uses—ranching facilities and the Kelso 

Depot, for instance—provide wonderful opportunities to educate 

visitors about the region’s history. At the same time, the 3,500 

open mine shafts throughout the preserve can present a danger to 

visitors that must be addressed. Mitigating some of the effects of 

past land uses will require significant resources for many years. 

Future development will likely threaten some of the resources 

the preserve was created to protect. Plans to build a new airport 

near the northeast boundary of Mojave National Preserve to 

service Las Vegas, Nevada, would undoubtedly bring other 

commercial development. Furthermore, increased air and land 

traffic near the preserve may degrade its air quality, natural 

soundscape, and dark night sky.

Preserve management has been proactive in integrating 

environmental sustainability into its decision-making process.

From capital investments, such as installing solar electric systems, 

to everyday decisions, such as purchasing “green” cleaning 

products, Mojave has done much to make its operations more 

environmentally friendly. The preserve’s management team 

plans to carry this progress forward and has set ambitious goals 

for improving the energy efficiency of preserve buildings and 

minimizing the overall environmental impact of Mojave National 

Preserve operations.
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Providence Mountains from Kelso Peak. nps photo