National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Death Valley National Park

Death Valley

General Management Plan
Death Valley NP General Management Plan

Cover Photo: Ansel Adams 

other photos: NPS

April 2002

Death Valley National Park webpage

Click on the following to download pdf files

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Inside Cover

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Plan

Summary of Plan Actions

Natural Resources

Cultural Resources

Native American Interests

Visitor Use, Services, and Facilities

General Development Concepts

Roads and Circulation

Administrative Operations and Facilities

Landownership and Use

Plan Implementation

Maps

1. Region

2. Place Names

3. Park Boundary and Preliminary 

Wilderness

4. Saline Valley Warm Springs

5. Landownership

6. Mining Claims and Inactive Mines

7. Cattle Grazing Permits

Tables

Appendixes

References

Preparers

file:///C|/Deva/Deva_gmp/DEVA_GMP.htm9/12/2006 3:06:07 AM
Death Valley National Park

General Management Plan

Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, California and Esmeralda and Nye Counties, Nevada

April 2002

This General Management Plan is Death Valley National Park’s overall management strategy for a ten to fifteen year period.This document summarizes the selected alternative from the

Final General Management Plan / Environmental Impact Statement (July 2001).The Record

of Decision (ROD), signed on September 27, 2001, is included in this document as an appendix. The ROD includes a summary of public and interagency involvement.

U.S. Department of the Interior ■ National Park Service
front cover photo: Ansel Adams
contents

INTRODUCTION 1

DESCRIPTION OF DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK 2

PURPOSE AND MANAGEMENT 3

MISSION 3

Purpose 3

Significance 3

PRIMARY INTERPRETIVE THEMES 4

MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES 4

FUTURE PLANNING EFFORTS 7

THE PLAN 11

SUMMARY OF PLAN ACTIONS 12

NATURAL RESOURCES 18

Physical Environment 18

AIR QUALITY 18

VIEWSHEDS 19

NIGHT SKY 20

NOISE AND OVERFLIGHTS 20

WATER RESOURCES 21

WATER USE 21

PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES 24

GEOLOGICAL RESOURCES 25

CAVE RESOURCES 26

Biological Environment 26

DESERT TORTOISE 27

SPECIES ADDRESSED IN THE ASH MEADOWS RECOVERY PLAN 27

RIPARIAN-DEPENDENT BIRD SPECIES 28

SPECIES ADDRESSED IN THE EUREKA VALLEY DUNES RECOVERY PLAN 28

OTHER DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK RARE PLANTS 29

COTTONBALL MARSH PUPFISH 29

MOHAVE GROUND SQUIRREL 29

OTHER SENSITIVE ANIMALS 30

INTRODUCED SPECIES 31

DISTURBED LAND RESTORATION 34

Fire Management 35

Research 36

Inventorying and Monitoring 37

CULTURAL RESOURCES 38

Archeological Resources 38

HISTORIC ARCHEOLOGY 38

STATUS OF ARCHEOLOGICAL RESEARCH 38

LANDFORMS AND ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES 38

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES 38

Historic Resources 39

TIMBISHA SHOSHONE VILLAGE 39

WARM SPRINGS – SALINE VALLEY 39

CULTURAL LANDSCAPES 40

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES 40

Museum Collection 41

i
NATIVE AMERICAN INTERESTS 43

VISITOR USE, SERVICES, AND FACILITIES 45

Carrying Capacity 45

Desired Future Conditions 46

Interpretation 48

Information/Orientation 49

VISITOR CONTACT 49

WAYSIDES AND EXHIBITS 50

PARTNERSHIPS 50

Visitor Facilities 50

ENTRANCE/INFORMATION FACILITIES 51

INTERPRETIVE FACILITIES 51

DEVELOPED CAMPGROUNDS 51

Recreational Activities 52

DAY USE AREAS 54

BACKCOUNTRY AND ROADSIDE CAMPING 54

Visitor Use Fees 56

Commercial Services 56

GENERAL DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS 58

Scotty’s Castle 58

Furnace Creek and Cow Creek 58

Grapevine 58

Stovepipe Wells 58

Wildrose 58

ROADS AND CIRCULATION 59

Roads 59

Trails 59

Signs 60

ADMINISTRATIVE OPERATIONS AND FACILITIES 61

Park Administration 61

Employee Housing 62

Solid Waste Disposal 62

LANDOWNERSHIP AND USE 63

Park Boundary and Authorized Acreage 63

Wilderness 63

Land Acquisition 64

Mineral Development Activities 65

Abandoned Mines 66

Sand and Gravel for Road Maintenance 66

Cattle Grazing 66

OPERATIONAL COSTS 68

PLAN IMPLEMENTATION 68

ii

MAPS 69

1. REGION 70

2. PLACE NAMES 71

3. PARK BOUNDARY AND PRELIMINARY WILDERNESS 72

4. SALINE VALLEY WARM SPRINGS 73

5. LANDOWNERSHIP 75

6. MINING CLAIMS AND INACTIVE MINES 76

7. CATTLE GRAZING PERMIT 77

TABLES 79

1: 1994 WATER USE 80

2: BLM'S WILD HORSE AND BURRO HERD MANAGEMENT

AREAS FOR HERDS ADJACENT TO DEATH VALLEY

NATIONAL PARK 80

3: BURRO AND WILD HORSE POPULATION DATA 80

4: ANNUAL VISITATION 81

5: VISITOR ACTIVITIES 81

6: VISITOR PROFILE 81

7: AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC LEVELS (1995) 82

8: PROPOSED ACTION COST SUMMARY 82

APPENDIXES 83

A. CALIFORNIA DESERT PROTECTION ACT 84

B. TIMBISHA SHOSHONE HOMELAND ACT 92

C. RECORD OF DECISION 98

D. NORTHERN AND EASTERN MOJAVE PROJECT TIME LINE

109

REFERENCES 110

ACRONYMS 114

PREPARERS 115
Introduction

1

This General Management Plan is Death Valley National Park’s overall management strategy for a 10–15 year period. This plan focuses on the Park’s

purposes, its significant attributes, its mission in relation to the overall mission of

the agency, what activities are appropriate within these constraints, and resource

protection strategies. It provides guidelines for visitor use and development of

facilities for visitor enjoyment and administration of the Park. It serves as the

overall umbrella guidance under which more detailed activity or implementation

plans are prepared.

The previous General Management Plan was approved for the Death Valley

National Monument lands in 1989. The establishment of wilderness and addition of over a million acres of new lands by the California Desert Protection Act

in 1994 requires the development of a new general management plan.

This General Management Plan seeks to extend the existing management strategies that are in place for the previous Death Valley National Monument, and the

National Park Service mission and policies, to the management of the resources

within the new lands added to the unit in 1994 by the California Desert

Protection Act. It also strives to incorporate the designation of 95% of the Park

as wilderness into the management approach. This plan addresses the removal

of feral burros and horses from the Park in order to achieve the National Park

Service mission of managing the unit for native desert species. It also recognizes

the need to work cooperatively with the Bureau of Land Management on adjacent land, where their mandate from Congress is to maintain viable herds of wild

horses and burros. The plan addresses the establishment of a permanent

Homeland for the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe.

This plan attempts to balance the preservation of resources mission with specific mandates from Congress at no more than the level occurring in 1994. In

Death Valley, the California Desert Protection Act provides for the continuation

of grazing on the new lands. This plan addresses grazing as a component of the

management. This plan identifies a number of activity level plans needed to

address site specific issues, such as the Saline Valley Warm Springs management

and a wilderness/backcountry management plan. This plan seeks funding for

acquisition of private property from willing sellers, and/or mineral interests where

proposed uses conflict with the primary mission of preserving resources and providing for visitor enjoyment. 

Introduction

Introduction

 Overview
DESCRIPTION OF DEATH VALLEY

NATIONAL PARK

Death Valley National Monument was established

by presidential proclamation under the Antiquities

Act of 1906, on February 11, 1933. The original

monument contained approximately 1,601,800

acres. Supplementary proclamations in March 1937

and January 1952 increased the monument’s

acreage to 2,067,793 acres. The monument was

subsequently enlarged and changed to Death Valley

National Park by Congressional action on October

31, 1994, with the passage of the California Desert

Protection Act. Approximately 1.3 million acres of

new lands were added, bringing the total acreage of

the new Park to about 3,396,192 acres. Nearly 95%

of the Park was designated as wilderness by that

same act. Death Valley National Park is the largest

national park unit in the conterminous 48 states.

The vast majority of its lands are located in the

California counties of Inyo and San Bernardino, but

a small portion of the Park is located in the Nevada

counties of Nye and Esmeralda. California State

Highway 190 crosses the Park east to west, and

Highway 95 parallels the Park north to south on the

Park’s eastern boundary.

Death Valley National Park is the lowest point in the

Western Hemisphere and one of the hottest places

in the world. It is also a vast geological museum,

containing examples of most of the earth’s geologic eras. Here, plant and animal species, some of

which occur nowhere else in the world, have adapted to the harsh desert environment. Humans have

adjusted to these severe conditions, as evidenced by

extensive archeological sites; historical sites related

to successive waves of prospectors; miners, and

homesteaders; present-day residences of Native

Americans; and the current resort developments

and active mines.

Perhaps the Park’s greatest assets today are the clear

air, vast open spaces that stretch toward distant

horizons, and the overwhelming silence.

Approximately 1.2 million people a year (1999 numbers) come to Death Valley to experience the stark

and lonely vastness of the valley; the panorama of

rugged canyons and mountains; the pleasures of

the dry, moderate winter climate; the challenge of

the hot, arid summer; the relief of the cooler mountains; and the reminders of frontier and Native

American ways of life.

Death Valley National Park includes all of Death

Valley, a 156-mile-long north/south-trending trough

that formed between two major block-faulted

mountain ranges: the Amargosa Range on the east

and the Panamint Range on the west. Telescope

Peak, the highest peak in the Park and in the

Panamint Mountains, rises 11,049 feet above sea

level and lies only 15 miles from the lowest point in

the United States in the Badwater Basin salt pan, 282

feet below sea level. The California Desert Protection

Act added most of the Saline, Eureka, northern

Panamint, and Greenwater valleys to the Park.

The diversity of Death Valley’s plant communities

result partly from the region’s location in the Mojave

Desert, a zone of tension and overlap between the

Great Basin Desert to the north and the Sonoran

Desert to the south (Kearney and Peebles 1960). This

location, combined with the great relief found within the Park, from 282 feet below sea level to 11,049

feet above sea level, supports vegetation typical of

three biotic life zones: the lower Sonoran, the

Canadian, and the Arctic/Alpine in portions of the

Panamint Range (Jepson 1923; Storer and Usinger

1968). Based on Munz and Keck (1968) classifications, seven plant communities can be categorized

within these life zones, each characterized by dominant vegetation and representative of three vegetation types: scrub, desert woodland, and coniferous

forest. Microhabitats further subdivide some communities into zones, especially on the valley floor.

Death Valley National Park and the adjacent desert

support a variety of wildlife species, including 51

species of native mammals, 307 species of birds, 36

species of reptiles, three species of amphibians, and

five species and one subspecies of native fishes

(Hansen 1972 and 1973; Landye 1973). Small mammals are more numerous than large mammals, such

as desert bighorn, coyote, bobcat, mountain lion,

and mule deer. Mule deer are present in the pinyon/

juniper associations of the Grapevine, Cottonwood,

and Panamint mountains.

Many historic properties exist within the Park. Most

of those meeting the national register criteria for

significance and integrity have been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places. Most of the sites

contain structures or other tangible remains of the

activities that took place there. Death Valley

National Park is unique because it displays a continuum of mining activities from at least the 1860s to

the present day. Many historic mining resources are

of particular significance either because similar

resources are not found elsewhere within the national park system or because they are in a better state

of preservation than examples found elsewhere.

2
PURPOSE AND MANAGEMENT

An essential part of the planning process is understanding the purpose and significance of the land for

which the plan is being prepared. In the case of federal lands, Congress provides the purpose(s) of the

unit and the mission of the agency charged with managing the area. Significance is usually determined by

familiarity with the natural and cultural resources of

the region, although some significant elements are

often recognized in the enabling legislation.

MISSION

Death Valley National Park Mission: Death Valley

National Park dedicates itself to protecting significant desert features that provide world class scenic,

scientific, and educational opportunities for visitors

and academics to explore and study.

NPS Mission: The National Park Service mission

was clearly stated in its 1916 Organic Act:

“...the fundamental purpose of the said parks,

monuments, and reservations, which purpose is

to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

PURPOSE

■ Preserve the unrivaled scenic, geologic, and natural resources of these unique natural landscapes, while perpetuating significant and

diverse ecosystems of the California desert in

their natural state. Ensure the maximum protection of wilderness values provided by law.

■ Preserve the cultural resources of the California

desert associated with prehistoric, historic and

contemporary Native American culture, patterns of western exploration, settlement and

mining endeavors.

■ Provide opportunities for compatible public outdoor recreation and promote the public’s

understanding and appreciation of the

California desert by interpreting the natural and

cultural resources.

■ Retain and enhance opportunities for scientific

research in undisturbed ecosystems.

SIGNIFICANCE

■ Death Valley National Park contains the lowest

point in North America at 282 feet below sea

level. The valley floor receives the least precipitation in the United States (average 1.84 inches

per year) and is the site of the nation’s highest

and the world’s second highest recorded temperature (134 degrees Fahrenheit or 57 degrees

Celsius).

■ Death Valley National Park is world renowned

for its exposed, complex and diverse geology

and tectonics, and for its unusual geologic features, providing a natural geologic museum

that represents a substantial portion of the

earth’s history.

■ Death Valley has been the continuous home of

Native Americans, from prehistoric cultures to

the present day Timbisha Shoshone Tribe.

■ The extremely colorful, complex, and highly visible geology and steep, rugged mountains and

canyons provide some of the most dramatic

visual landscapes in the United States.

■ Death Valley National Park contains one of the

nation’s most diverse and significant fossil

records and most continuous volcanic histories.

■ Death Valley National Park contains five major

sand dune systems representing all types of

dune structures, making it one of the only places

on earth where this variety of dune types occurs

in such close proximity. It also contains the highest dunes in California — Eureka Sand Dunes.

■ Death Valley National Park is one of the largest

expanses of protected warm desert in the

world. Ninety-five percent of the Park is designated wilderness, providing unique opportunities for quiet, solitude, and primitive adventure

in an extreme desert ecosystem.

■ Contrary to many visitors’ first impression,

Death Valley National Park’s natural resources

are extremely diverse, containing a large variety

of plant species and community types. The area

preserves large expanses of creosote bush valleys and other vegetation typical of the Mojave

Desert. Extreme conditions and isolation provide habitat for an unusually high number of

plant and animal species that are highly adapted to these conditions.

3Introduction

 Purpose and Management
■ Death Valley National Park has an extensive and

well-preserved mining history representing over

100 years of mining technology.

■ Death Valley National Park contains an unusually high number of well-preserved archeological

sites, including rock art and alignments.

■ Scotty’s Castle, with its architectural style, quality, and priceless collection of antiques and art

objects, built in a remote, isolated desert location in the early 1900s, is an icon that has

immense public appeal.

PRIMARY INTERPRETIVE THEMES

The primary Park stories or interpretive themes are

overview statements that provide the basis for communicating the purpose and significance of the Park

and provide the elements that the Park believes

each visitor should develop an understanding of

during their visit. Interpretation is a process of education designed to stimulate curiosity and convey

messages to the visiting public. These themes will be

developed during the preparation of a comprehensive interpretive plan for the Park and will guide the

development of interpretive materials (signs,

brochures, walks, talks, etc.).

MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES

NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES

■ Maintain, preserve, interpret, and perpetuate

the aesthetic setting, and the natural and cultural resources, of Death Valley National Park in

such as manner as to:

■ Protect the significant natural and cultural

resources and values of the Park, including geologic features, and to foster an improved understanding of natural processes through monitoring efforts and scientific research.

■ Perpetuate native plants and animal life for their

essential roles in the natural ecosystem.

■ Strive to reduce or eliminate alien species to

ensure long-term survival of the native ecosystem.

■ Ensure the perpetuation of rare and endangered plants and animals and those species

endemic (specific) to Death Valley National Park.

■ Perpetuate and increase water resource science

and conservation.

■ Perpetuate the Devils Hole pupfish in the

detached Devils Hole section of the Park.

■ Eliminate existing and prohibit new occurrences

of all activities inconsistent with the protection

of the natural ecosystem, except in the Park’s

developed areas, as noted in the Park’s management plans.

■ Restore to natural appearance, inasmuch as

feasible, the land surfaces disturbed by man,

recognizing that significant cultural values must

be preserved.

■ Prohibit or minimize the adverse effects of mining and mineral development that conflict with

resource preservation and public appreciation of

natural and cultural values.

■ Provide for the reclamation of mining areas and

the eventual completion or phaseout of mining.

■ Maintain air quality monitoring to facilitate

implementation of means to prevent deterioration of air quality and visibility.

■ Continue to pursue redesignation of Death

Valley National Park from a class II floor area to

a class I air quality area.

■ Prevent, eliminate, or reduce artificial lighting

and noise in order to preserve the opportunity

for visitors to experience the night sky and stillness of the desert.

■ Perpetuate unimpaired the Park’s cultural and

archeological resources, protecting them from

vandalism, unauthorized excavation, collection,

or appropriation.

4
■ Protect the Park’s collections of natural and cultural objects from deterioration, natural disaster, misuse, and loss.

■ Operate and manage Scotty’s Castle, its

grounds, and environs to recreate the atmosphere of the period of its construction and

occupation by Walter Scott and Mr. and Mrs.

Albert Johnson.

■ Support research programs pertaining to natural and cultural resources and to social sciences,

consistent with the Park’s resource protection

and visitor services mission.

WILDERNESS VALUES

■ Manage and protect wilderness values and

resources so as to ensure public understanding

and appreciation of the vast wilderness assets

of the Park.

■ Strive to restore disturbed areas in wilderness.

VISITOR USE

■ Provide the visitor to Death Valley National Park

with the opportunity to discover, explore, and

understand the natural and cultural resources

of the Park.

INTERPRETIVE SERVICES

■ Offer a variety of quality informational services

that differ in format, media, and intensity of

presentation, and that are sensitive to the special needs, interests, and cultural backgrounds

of a diverse mix of visitors.

■ Offer visitors an understanding of Park values

and resources, and include as an integral part of

interpretive materials major Park management

and resource protection challenges.

■ Enhance the visitor understanding of Native

American cultures.

■ Maximize opportunities for visitor enjoyment

and appreciation of interpretive services, facilities, and resources, consistent with other Park

management objectives.

■ Provide information on the surrounding area,

including appropriate safety awareness for visitor use of rugged, isolated Death Valley and its

environs.

■ Maintain a library and a study collection operation that is up-to-date and reflects current

preservation policies.

■ Maximize services (talks, facilities) for educational and other groups that enrich the Park’s

database and enhance their understanding and

appreciation of Death Valley.

RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

■ Permit access to all areas of the Park, consistent

with resource protection objectives and within

optimum carrying capacities/use limits.

■ Offer a variety of recreational opportunities that

are sensitive to the range of visitor interests, physical capabilities, and time and financial limitations.

■ Provide an opportunity for exploring the backcountry, experiencing the wildness of the high

Panamint, Grapevine, Cottonwood, and Funeral

ranges, as well as camping and sight-seeing in

a setting of climatic relief from the valley floor;

provide a wilderness experience for those who

desire it, in balance with the limitation of the

fragile resource.

■ Provide access to points of interest within the

Park by a variety of means, including automobiles, tour buses, four-wheel-drive vehicles,

horses, hiking and facilities for private aircraft.

5

Introduction

 Primary Interpretive Themes
6

COMMERCIAL SERVICES

■ Maintain, preserve, and perpetuate an aesthetic

setting for commercial services and community

support services, with Furnace Creek being

retained as the focal point, and provide secondary year-round commercial facilities and services

at Scotty’s Castle, Stovepipe Wells, and

Panamint Springs.

■ Perpetuate the use of historic structures and

facilities for commercial purposes, in a manner

consistent with their historical significance.

FACILITIES AND SERVICES

■ Compatible with resource protection goals and

carrying capacity limits, provide facilities and

services to accommodate visitor needs.

■ Maximize use of existing facilities and accommodate necessary expansion of visitor facilities

and services; build new facilities or expand existing facilities only when a clearly demonstrated,

continuing need exists, ensuring that environmental impacts are minimized.

■ Provide for a variety of overnight visitor accommodations (including lodging and camping) and

food services, while ensuring the preservation of

natural and cultural resources.

■ Encourage appropriate development of

overnight facilities and related services by private inholdings and private enterprise outside

the Park.

■ Ensure that authorized commercial uses in

Death Valley National Park are compatible with

the preservation and safe enjoyment of the

Park’s resources.

■ Improve water handling facilities to assure

appropriate conservation.

■ Ensure that the types and prices of commercial

services provided will accommodate a range of

Park visitors and needs.

■ Through landscaping and design, screen concessioner and National Park Service operations and

maintenance areas from visitor areas.

■ Develop utilities and telephone service only as

needed; investigate alternative energy systems,

especially solar and water, to minimize energy

consumption and environmental impacts.

■ Provide seasonal levels of commercial services

that are responsive to visitor use patterns.

OPERATIONS

■ Maintain the public use and administrative support facilities and equipment in a manner that

will provide visitors safe and enjoyable experiences and prolong the life of the equipment and

facilities.

■ Provide for visitor and employee safety through

an ongoing safety program that recognizes the

hazards of heat and flash floods, as well as the

physical hazards of mine areas.

■ Provide employees with a safe and healthy work

environment and with training to work safely.

■ Upgrade and replace directional/informational

signs so as to better aid visitors, recognizing that

signs should fit into a parklike environment.

■ Manage the maintenance program in a costeffective manner; supervise proper use of manpower, equipment, supplies, and money.

■ Promote strategies for management efficiency

through revenue enhancement (fee collection),

private sector support, volunteerism, improved

concessioner maintenance, and productivity

enrichment (contracted services).

■ Provide timely service to Park employees in personnel management, procurement, finance,

word-processing, mail, and dispatch/telephone

operations, thereby improving morale and

allowing Park staff to better use their time in

meeting visitor and resource needs.

■ Provide for adequate housing, employee services,

and recreational opportunities for employees.

REGIONAL PLANNING AND COOPERATION

■ Cooperate with other federal, state, and local

agencies and private interests in the development of plans, facilities, and programs in order

to provide more effective service to the public.

■ Work with California (Inyo and San Bernardino

counties) and Nevada (Nye and Esmeralda counties) to obtain concurrent jurisdiction status for

the Park.
■ Communicate to visitors and scientists the concept of the Man and the Biosphere program,

and cooperate with Joshua Tree National Park,

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and the

University of California’s Boyd Deep Canyon,

which together with Death Valley comprise the

Mojave and Colorado Deserts Biosphere Reserve.

■ Encourage the use of Death Valley’s resources

as a center of scientific research interest, consistent with the perpetuation of native natural

processes and the preservation of extant cultural resources.

■ Work with the state of Nevada and various

research institutions in the understanding and

management of the Death Valley aquifer.

■ Cooperate with the state of California to provide for road maintenance and patrol, with Inyo

County for health, educational, library, and law

enforcement services, and with the U.S. Postal

Service; ensure that all these services benefit

employees, their families, and visitors.

■ Maintain coordination and cooperation with

California Department of Fish and Game in relation to fish and wildlife issues.

■ Encourage the perpetuation of Death Valley’s

Native American cultural heritage.

FUTURE PLANNING EFFORTS

As a result of efforts made to date, additional NPS

planning documents have been identified as being

needed to supply detailed information for specific

topics. Where appropriate, public involvement will

be sought on all of these plans through the environmental assessment process. Additional planning

efforts that may be undertaken over the next ten

years include the following:

■ comprehensive interpretive plan

■ wilderness/backcountry management

plan

■ fire management plan

■ road management plan

■ grazing management plan

■ site management plan for Saline Valley*

■ development concept plan for Furnace

Creek/Cow Creek*

■ development concept plan for

Grapevine

■ updated development concept plan for

Stovepipe Wells

■ commercial services plan

■ historic resources study/development

concept plan for Scotty’s Castle

■ sign plan

■ wayside exhibit plan

■ site management plan for Eureka Dunes

■ minerals management plan

■ inventorying and monitoring plan*

■ natural and cultural resource management

plan updates*

(This plan will cover the entire Park, rather

than just the newly acquired areas).

■ cooperative program plans with Timbisha

Shoshone Tribe*

■ Wildrose site plan

■ annual strategic plan

Plans in bold text are either currently being prepared or already exist as of September 2001. Those

with asterisks are considered the highest priority

plans to initiate next. 

7

Introduction

 Future Planning Efforts
8
The Plan
10
11

Overview Overview

The plan seeks to extend the existing Park management strategies

and the NPS mission and policies to the management of the

resources within the new lands added to the Park in 1994. It also

strives to incorporate the designation of 95% of the Park as wilderness into the management approach. The Park will seek to protect

resources commensurate with the visitor use mandate as the highest priority, with no derogation of Park values.

The plan addresses the removal of feral burros and horses from the

Park in order to achieve the NPS mission of managing the unit for

native desert species. It also recognizes the need to work cooperatively with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on adjacent

land where that agency’s mandate from Congress is to manage

wild horses and burros so as to “achieve and maintain a thriving

natural ecological balance on public lands” where Herd

Management Areas were established in 1971 and are in existence

today. Eliminating some or all burros from an area to achieve a

“thriving natural ecological balance” is a BLM option.

The plan strives to balance the preservation of resources mission

with specific mandates from Congress, while not allowing derogation of Park values. For example, grazing would continue at no

more than current levels on the new lands, as per the California

Desert Protection Act. Grazing is treated as a component of management. Of four total allotments, two allotments are eliminated

and one is retired, leaving one allotment remaining within the Park.

The plan identifies a number of other activity level plans needed to

address site specific issues, such as the Saline Valley Warm Springs

management and a wilderness/ backcountry management plan.

The plan adopts a land acquisition strategy that seeks funding to

allow acquisition of most private land from willing sellers based on

priorities identified in the “Land Protection Plan.” 

The Plan

The Plan

 Overview
NATURAL RESOURCES

Air quality:

■ Seek class I designation.

■ Continue air monitoring program, participate

national air quality network, and monitor ozone

and particulate matter.

Viewsheds:

■ Prepare guidelines for developed areas to create

harmony between the built environment and the

natural environment.

■ Implement objectives for communications

equipment proposals.

Night Sky:

■ Cooperate with neighbors and local government

agencies to minimize artificial light intrusion.

■ Use artificial outdoor lighting limited to basic

safety requirements and shielded to keep light

on the intended subject and out of the night sky.

■ Establish baseline light measurements for night

use for monitoring changes over time.

Noise and Overflights:

■ Strive to preserve the natural quiet and sounds

associated with the physical and biological

resources.

■ Collaborate with the Department of Defense to

minimize impacts on visitors and resources from

military overflights.

Water Resources:

■ Assertively compile water related baseline data.

■ Seek to protect, perpetuate, and possibly restore

surface water and groundwater as integral components of Park aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

■ Surface water and groundwater withdrawn for

the Park’s use will be the amount necessary to

achieve Park purposes.

■ Strive to maintain the water levels at Devils Hole.

■ Monitor wells and springs including Darwin Falls

and in at least nine water delivery systems.

■ Avoid occupancy and modification of floodplain

and wetland areas.

■ Defend federally reserved water rights through

the state of California and Nevada administrative processes and, if necessary, seek judicial

remedy in the appropriate courts.

■ Identify as a federally reserved water right all

unappropriated water from any water source

identified on federal lands within the boundaries

of designated wilderness and/or park areas in

the California desert.

■ Examine the use of and need for all guzzlers,

livestock tanks, and troughs. Eliminate unneeded and/or unused facilities.

■ Retain water developments for native plants and

wildlife that are needed to mitigate for local

water losses due to previous human activities.

■ Restore natural water sources to be self-sustaining.

Paleontological Resources:

■ Protect and preserve paleontological resources

for public enjoyment, interpretation, and scientific research in accordance with Park management objectives and approved resource management plans.

■ Seek to develop collaborative partnerships with

government agencies, academic institutions,

and public and private organizations with paleontological resource management or research

capabilities/expertise.

Geological Resources:

■ Protect geological features through random

patrols of the backcountry as well as limited

public closures to protect sensitive sites.

■ USGS will map the park’s exposed geology.

Cave Resources:

■ Avoid development of caves and to perpetuate

natural conditions, while seeking to protect the

resource.

Species and Habitats of Special Consideration:

■ Identify and promote the conservation of all federally listed or proposed threatened or endangered species and their critical habitats within

Park boundaries in ways that were consistent with

the purposes of the Endangered Species Act.

■ Identify and map distribution of plant and animal

species considered rare or unique to the Park.

■ Continue to manage and protect the 40-acre

area known as Devils Hole, its endangered pupfish and other sensitive aquatic and terrestrial

plants and animals.

■ The FWS prepared a biological opinion for the

Devils Hole pupfish on August 14, 2001.

■ Conduct Devils Hole pupfish counts on a biannual basis.

■ A site management plan for the Eureka Dunes

area addresses protection of sensitive species.

Introduced Species:

■ Nonnative plants and animals will not be introduced

except under the most unusual circumstances.

Burros:

■ Adopt “no burro or wild horse” strategy that

exists for the former monument lands and

apply it to newly added Park lands.

12

Summary of Plan Actions Summary of Plan Actions
■ Removal of horses and burros from Park

lands will be completed through a three

phase removal program. Phase one consists

of a Park-wide live capture program that will

be in effect for a maximum of five years.

Phase two consists of soliciting interested

animal protection groups to begin removing

the remaining few animals. An agreement

will be signed with the group(s) to provide up

to 2 years to remove the remaining burros

and wild horses from the Park at their

expense. In phase three, NPS staff will eliminate the remaining few animals in the most

cost-effective and humane manner to

achieve a zero population. Removal efforts

could involve a variety of techniques including, but not limited to shooting,

wrangler/helicopter roundups, and nettingremoval with helicopters. Phase three will

continue for an indefinite time.

■ Develop a cooperative agreement that

assures that the BLM will take steps to control herds adjacent to the Park and will

remove trespass burros and wild horses.

Other Nonnative Species:

■ Eradicate exotic species to the extent feasible.

■ Control aquatic species, such as mosquito

fish, goldfish, crayfish, and bullfrogs, to a

level eliminating their adverse impacts, or

extirpate altogether from Park habitats.

■ Actively pursue removal of nonnative tamarisk.

■ Continue limited programs to control Russian

thistle and hornwort.

Disturbed Land Restoration:

■ Seek to perpetuate native plant life as part of

natural ecosystems.

■ In natural areas landscape conditions caused by

natural phenomena such as landslides, earthquakes, floods, and natural fires will not be

modified unless required for public safety, protection of NPS facilities, or necessary reconstruction of dispersed-use facilities, such as trails.

■ Rehabilitate abandoned mine sites.

■ Cultural zones will be managed as historic landscapes.

Fire Management:

■ Assess and document the state of existing fire

effects research in desert ecosystems and formulate a desert fire management strategy.

■ Suppression of wildfires, and implementation of

all fire management actions using methods,

equipment and tactics which cause the least

impact to natural and cultural resources.

■ Develop fire management strategies based on the

best available science, field observations of fire

effects and post-burn monitoring of selected sites.

■ Periodically update the Park “Fire Management

Plan.”

Research:

■ Procure the best science to meet resource protection and management requirements.

■ Issue research permits or scientific collection permits to researchers from universities, museums

or other agencies when their studies are compatible with park purposes and consistent with

legislation.

Inventorying and Monitoring:

■ Develop and implement a systematic, integrated

program to identify, inventory, and monitor the

Park’s natural resources.

■ Update Natural and Cultural Resources

Management Plan to reflect the changes that

are proposed in this General Management Plan.

CULTURAL RESOURCES

■ Develop and implement a systematic, integrated

program to identify, inventory, monitor, evaluate, and nominate archeological sites, historic

properties, cultural landscapes, and ethnographic resources to the national register, and manage, protect, and preserve such listed properties

in a way that will preserve their documented

archeological, architectural, ethnographic, historic, or research values.

■ Develop and implement a systematic applied

cultural resource research program.

■ Resource Management Plan will address the

requirements, projects, and funding to implement the cultural resource program.

NATIVE AMERICAN INTERESTS

■ 314 acres at Furnace Creek in Death Valley

National Park encompassing the present

Timbisha Village Site have been transferred to

the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe.

■ Other arrangements authorizing tribal access to

and traditional uses of, certain designated areas

which will remain in public ownership have been

recommended.

■ Development and resource use activities will be

subject to NEPA and public review.

13The Plan

 Summary of Plan Actions
VISITOR USE, SERVICES, AND FACILITIES

Interpretation:

■ Interpretive program will integrate the geological, cultural, and biological aspects of the Park.

■ Improve the educational outreach program in

surrounding communities and develop partnerships with local schools and similar groups.

■ Develop comprehensive interpretive plan to

replace the 1990 interpretive prospectus.

■ Seek additional ways to improve the living history program or other methods of interpreting

Scotty’s Castle.

■ Integrate interpretation of prehistoric and contemporary Native American cultures into parkwide interpretive themes, focusing on human

adaptation to the desert environment.

Information/Orientation:

■ Where possible provide interpretation and orientation information to visitors before they enter

the Park.

■ Provide interpretive services wherever NPS staff

could effectively connect with the public to

increase their understanding and appreciation of

Park resources.

■ Develop unstaffed orientation and information

stations within the Park along the Park’s five

major entrance roads that receive relatively high

levels of traffic.

■ Post signs or exhibits at key road intersections

leading to significant features.

■ Upgrade interpretive wayside exhibits within the

Park in accordance with a wayside exhibit plan.

■ Cooperate with other agencies and organizations to make information available along

approach routes to the Park.

Visitor Facilities:

■ All improvements to visitor facilities will be subject to federal requirements to meet accessibility

standards for people with disabilities.

■ Entrance stations are planned for State Highway

190 on the east and west sides of the Park.

■ Operate major visitor centers at Furnace Creek

and Scotty’s Castle.

■ Prepare a comprehensive design plan to update

and improve the Furnace Creek visitor center.

■ Other structures at Scotty’s Castle might be

opened for public tours or adapted for other

uses if these actions are compatible with recommendations from the historic resource study/historic structure report, the goals of restoring the

resource’s cultural landscape, and are operationally appropriate.

■ Comprehensive design packages for visitor facilities will strive to balance resource protection with

visitor access and safety, minimize impacts on

sensitive resources, and improve the visual quality of the areas and overall visitor experience.

■ Improve existing campgrounds by eliminating

safety hazards, better defining and separating

sites, improving restrooms, and adding amenities such as newer picnic tables.

■ Redesign the Stovepipe Wells campground.

■ Redesign Sunset, Texas Spring, and Furnace Creek

campgrounds to accommodate average winter

demand and improve camping conditions.

Recreational Activities:

■ Support recreational activities compatible with

management objectives and visitor needs.

■ Additional day use areas may be established in

the new additions to the Park.

■ Small, primitive campsites may be established in

some remote areas of the Park to offer alternative camping experiences.

■ Complete backcountry/wilderness management

plan which will address camping issues.

■ Establish inventory and monitoring program to

gather data on backcountry visitor use and related impacts associated with car and other types

of camping.

■ Management actions may include required

camping at designated campsites and or closure

of areas to camping.

■ Prepare a survey and inventory of cabins.

Visitor Use in Saline Valley:

■ Prepare a site specific management plan for

the Saline Valley in consultation with interested public through the NEPA process.

■ Limit soaking tubs/spas to the current level of

improvements.

■ Protect the Upper Springs from human

improvements and use from burros.

■ Maintain Saline Valley Road to its current surface condition by Inyo County.

■ Make analysis of the Chicken Strip airstrip to

determine whether to retain it under 36CFR

or whether it should be closed due to safety

and/or resource impact concerns.

■ The proposed site plan will also consider

options for the active restoration of the

Upper Springs to a natural condition.

Visitor Use Fees:

■ Explore options for fee collection revenues consistent with congressional direction, including

collection by third parties.

14
■ Collect entrance fees at the Furnace Creek visitor center, Beatty, the Grapevine Entrance

Station, Stovepipe Wells, and Baker.

■ Develop entrance stations on State Highway 190

near east and west Park boundaries.

Commercial Services:

■ All commercial businesses that operate in the

Park are required to obtain an incidental business permit.

■ Continue commercial services at Stovepipe Wells

and at Scotty’s Castle.

■ Work with the private commercial operations at

Furnace Creek and Panamint Springs to achieve

mutual objectives and resolve potential problems.

■ Organized recreational activities, that originate

from outside of the Park and for which a fee is

charged (such as guided motor coach tours,

guided horseback and hiking trips, photography

workshops, nature seminars, etc.), are required

to obtain an incidental business permit to conduct these activities.

GENERAL DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS

Scotty’s Castle:

■ Prepare a development concept plan to establish

various facility requirements, the appropriateness of relocating maintenance and curatorial

functions, visitor circulation patterns, staffing

levels, and the location of employee housing.

Furnace Creek and Cow Creek:

■ Prepare a development concept plan for administrative and visitor facilities at Furnace Creek

and administrative facilities at Cow Creek.

Grapevine:

■ Complete a development concept plan to remove

unsightly and inadequate NPS housing and maintenance facilities from a public use area, to consolidate certain functions, provide more adequate

housing for Park and concession employees,

assure appropriate visitor services, visitor information, safety, and resource protection.

Stovepipe Wells:

■ Renovate Stovepipe Wells in accordance with a

site management plan. The concessions program at Stovepipe Wells will be retained for the

foreseeable future.

Wildrose:

■ Develop a site plan for the Wildrose area to

determine the future direction of the facilities

and use of the area.

ROADS AND CIRCULATION

Roads:

■ Produce a road management plan to determine

such things as the status of duplicate road sections, road surface conditions, and the level of

maintenance.

■ New roads will unlikely be created in the future

unless there is strong justification to do so.

■ No routine maintenance on high clearance and

four-wheel drive backcountry roads. Occasional or

emergency maintenance will occur as appropriate.

Trails:

■ Hiking allowed on open trails; equestrian use

allowed in most areas.

■ No new trails currently planned but will be considered in the wilderness/backcountry management plan.

■ The wilderness/backcountry management plan

will address specific trail use by hikers, equestrians, and people with disabilities. It will also

address the need for a Panamint Crest trail.

Signs:

■ Prepare a sign plan to ensure that the vision of

signs as unobtrusive, minimal, and blend with

the natural environment, is carried out.

■ Signs will assist visitors with direction and location and will allow the backcountry roads to

remain low key.

ADMINISTRATIVE OPERATIONS AND FACILITIES

Park Administration:

■ Furnace Creek will continue to serve as the main

administrative headquarters for the Park with a

visitor center and an administrative office.

■ Replace nonnative plants and landscapes with

native plants and landscapes around administrative and visitor facilities where appropriate for

interpretive, aesthetic, water conservation and

other management purposes.

■ Some traditional plantings may be retained.

■ Locate some facilities outside the Park, consistent with the existing management direction

and actions proposed in this plan. This will

include, but will not be limited to, visitor facilities in Beatty, Baker, and Lone Pine, as well as

possibly other communities. It also includes the

potential establishment of a satellite office in or

around areas east of the Park to provide office

space for some employees, storage and possibly

curation.

15The Plan

 Summary of Plan Actions
Employee Housing:

■ A development concept plan underway for the

Grapevine area will recommend providing housing and replacing the existing trailers for the

northern district of the Park. Ongoing trailer

replacement with permanent houses will continue until completed.

■ Prior to constructing additional housing for

employees, evaluate the location of the housing

and make a determination about whether private

housing elsewhere within a one hour drive could

serve the same need, and whether the total

housing units are the minimum necessary to

meet the mission of the Park.

Solid Waste Disposal:

■ Haul solid waste disposal to approved landfills

outside the Park.

■ Expand recycling program.

LANDOWNERSHIP AND USE

Park Boundary and Authorized Acreage:

■ No boundary changes proposed. Clerical or

drafting corrections may be made to the maps

and legal descriptions.

Wilderness:

■ Manage wilderness areas for the use and enjoyment of the American people in a way that

would leave them unimpaired for future use and

enjoyment as wilderness.

■ Motorized access through wilderness to maintain grazing developments could be considered

under section 708 of the CDPA.

■ Use minimum tool determination prior to granting approval for motorized/mechanical equipment use within wilderness.

■ The California Desert Protection Act modifies

some provisions of the Wilderness Act.

■ Continue process of determining and mapping

wilderness boundaries.

Land Acquisition:

■ A Land Protection Plan has been prepared.

■ Seek funds to acquire private lands and interests

in the Park based on priorities presented in the

Land Protection Plan.

■ Donations and exchanges of real property from

willing sellers will be a priority, and third party

acquisitions from willing sellers will be encouraged.

■ Exchange of state school sections in the new

lands will continue to be actively exchanged pursuant to the California Desert Protection Act

direction.

Mineral Development Activities

■ Administer mineral development activities under

existing laws and regulations applicable to such

activities.

■ Proposed mining operations must file a plan of

operations and must meet the approval standards provided in the regulations and post a performance bond equivalent to the cost of reclamation before an operation will proceed.

■ Section 305 of the California Desert Protection

Act withdrew the Park from all forms of entry,

appropriation or disposal under the public land

laws; from location, entry and patent under the

United States mining laws; and from disposition

under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing and the sale of mineral materials.

■ Seek funding to initiate acquisition of mineral

rights whenever a proposed mineral development fails to meet the regulatory approval standards and no alternative development scenario

is feasible.

■ Undertake a sensitive resource analysis based on

an objective analysis of physical, biological, cultural and visitor use values relative to projected

mining impacts.

Abandoned Mines:

■ Conduct a comprehensive inventory of all

Abandoned Mineral Lands (AML) sites to serve

as the basis for future planning and reclamation

program implementation.

Sand and Gravel for Road Maintenance:

■ Evaluate use of borrow sources for road maintenance during the preparation of the road management plan.

Grazing:

■ No grazing is permitted on the former monument lands.

■ As authorized by the California Desert

Protection Act of 1994, the privilege of cattle

grazing within the Park shall continue at no

more than the October 31, 1994 level and is

subject to applicable NPS regulations, policies,

and Park management direction.

■ No grazing will be permitted on the NPS portions of the Eureka Valley or Lacey-CactusMcCloud BLM allotments. No permit has been

issued on the Last Chance allotment since 1996

due to the lack of forage. The NPS considers this

area of the Park to be permanently retired from

grazing. Work with the permittee on the Hunter

Mountain allotment to develop grazing practices

and levels, not to exceed 1,105 AUMs through

16
development of a grazing management plan.

■ Work to acquire base property from willing

ranchers.

■ A grazing management plan will include how

many cattle and the time and place where these

cattle will be allowed to graze, seasonal restrictions, the placement/movement of mineral

blocks and water facilities as a tool to alter cattle use patterns, pasture rotation, etc.

■ Fees will be based on BLM schedules and NPS

Special Use Permit costs. Grazing fees will be

used for Park resource management and

restoration projects.

■ Require permittee to access wilderness on foot

or horseback, similar to other users.

■ Use a minimum tool determination prior to

granting approval for motorized/mechanical

equipment use within wilderness.

■ If livestock use including water use degrades

wilderness values, the number of livestock will

be reduced to appropriate levels.

17The Plan

 Summary of Plan Actions
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Air Quality

Background

The management and enforcement of the Clean Air

Act’s air quality standards in the Death Valley

National Park area is conducted by two entities, the

Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District and

the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District.

The Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District

includes the desert portion of San Bernardino

County (within the South East Desert Air Basin) and

the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District

includes Inyo and Mono Counties (within the Great

Basin Valley Air Basin).

Congress established the Prevention of Significant

Deterioration program as part of the Clean Air Act.

To facilitate the implementation of this program, an

area classification scheme was established. This classification scheme has class I receiving the highest

degree of protection with only small amounts of

certain kinds of additional air pollution (sulfur dioxide and particulate matter) allowed. The other two

areas are class II, which allows moderate increases in

certain air pollutants; and class III, which allows a

large amount of new air pollution (Congress has yet

to designate any class III areas). There are no class I

areas in the California Mojave Desert. Death Valley

National Park is a class II “floor” area, meaning that

it may never be redesignated to class III.

The Clean Air Act developed national ambient air

quality standards for a finite number of criteria pollutants. The criteria pollutants are: sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, total suspended particulates, nitrogen

oxides, lead, ozone, and particulate matter less than

10 microns in diameter (PM10).

Nonattainment areas are areas that are not in compliance with the national ambient air quality standards, and therefore must reduce pollution to reach

compliance. The San Bernardino County portion of

Death Valley National Park is in nonattainment for

California’s state ozone standards.

Federal PM10 nonattainment areas include the San

Bernardino County desert area, Owens Valley,

Mammoth Lakes, Mono Basin, and the Searles

Valley planning area. Mono and the eastern portion

of Inyo counties have not recorded PM10 emissions

in excess of the national standards.

One nearby source of pollution is the Searles Valley

(Trona) complex that produces soda ash, borax,

potash, and other chemicals from Searles Dry Lake.

Other nearby sources of emissions include Owens

Lake, Owens Lake Soda Ash Company, U.S. Army’s

National Training Center at Fort Irwin, China Lake

Naval Air Weapons Station, Briggs Mine, and

Panamint Valley Limestone Quarry. Air quality monitoring activities occur at Death Valley National Park

and at the Briggs Mine. The Briggs Mine has two

real time PM10 monitors that collect data continuously. This data is reported to the Great Basin

Unified Air Pollution Control District on a quarterly

basis. This system is set up to allow the district to

access the real time data via a modem.

Exposed lakebeds and farmlands lie in the Owens

Valley and Mono Basin between mountain ranges.

Wind-carried dust from these exposed lands in the

valley adversely affect air quality over the area (U.S.

Forest Service, 1988). Visibility has been affected to

the extent that Department of Defense test flights

over the Owens Valley are hampered or shut down 6

to 12 times each year (U.S. Forest Service, 1988). The

county, the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control

District, the city of Los Angeles, the Department of

Defense, and the Inyo National Forest are making

coordinated efforts to resolve this concern.

Local pollution sources in the desert consist primarily of particulate matter from offroad vehicles, windblown soil, mining operations, livestock grazing,

and agricultural activities. These sources have left

certain areas denuded or sparsely vegetated, allowing wind erosion to occur and air quality to suffer,

occasionally causing particulate standards violations

at some locations.

Death Valley National Park currently has an air quality monitoring program which monitors ozone

(including meteorology) and particulates. Both are

managed under the NPS national program contracts. The Park will soon be adding wet and dry

acid deposition monitoring. All air quality monitoring occurs at a monitoring station at Cow Creek, 5

miles north of Furnace Creek.

The National Park Service is responsible for protecting air quality under both the 1916 Organic Act and

the Clean Air Act. Although the Clean Air Act gives

the highest level of air quality protection to class I

areas, it provides many opportunities for the

National Park Service to participate in the development of pollution control programs to preserve, protect, and enhance the air quality of all units of the

national park system, including class II areas. The

National Park Service will seek class I designation for

the Park.

18

Natural Resour Natural Resources
Sections 118 and 176 of the Clean Air Act require

federal agencies/facilities to meet all federal, state,

and local air pollution control laws and regulations.

In the case of units/facilities located in areas not

meeting federal or state air pollution control standards (nonattainment areas), the units/facilities

must conform to requirements established to attain

and maintain those standards. The requirements

could include provisions to reduce emissions from

existing facilities and limit emissions from proposed

facilities on a greater than 1:1 basis.

A more efficient and comprehensive approach for

reducing regional haze that veils scenic vistas in

parks was announced in April 1999 in a final rule.

This rule builds upon existing air pollution control

programs which are designed primarily to protect

public health, and the first plans are due at the

same time states submit plans for meeting new

health-based air quality standards adopted by the

Environmental Protection Agency (2005–2008). But,

the rule requires steady and continuing emission

reductions even after health goals are met and sets

a target date of 2064 for achieving “natural” visibility conditions in national parks and wilderness

areas. States will be required to submit 10-year

plans, with measures needed to stay on track toward

that target (at least a 10% improvement in visibility

each decade). Irrespective of what other measures

states may choose to adopt, the rule requires that

the “best available retrofit technology” (BART) be

installed at hundreds of power plants and industrial

facilities that were built without pollution controls

and have otherwise avoided installing modern technology. States will have the option of achieving

BART-or-better emission reductions through economic incentives or market-based programs.

Plan Actions

The National Park Service will seek to perpetuate

the best possible air quality in the Park because of

its critical importance to visitor enjoyment, human

health, scenic vistas, and the preservation of natural

systems and cultural resources. The National Park

Service will work to promote and pursue measures

to safeguard these values from the adverse impacts

from air pollution. The National Park Service will

strive to set the best example for others to follow in

their development and management activities.

When the impacts of existing or potential air pollution on Park resources are unclear, the National Park

Service will err on the side of protecting air quality

and related values for future generations. The Park’s

air monitoring program will continue. Death Valley

National Park has a National Oceanographic &

Atmospheric Administration weather station at

Furnace Creek and will continue to be a participating member of a national air quality network and

will monitor ozone and particulate matter.

Since the Park is located in a nonattainment area for

one or more air pollutants, no actions taken will

lead to violations of federal or state air pollution

control laws or regulations nor will they increase

emissions that will violate the state conformity

requirements. Park staff will work with air pollution

control officials to ensure compliance with those

requirements.

Viewsheds

Background

Visibility is probably the most important air quality

resource in the desert region, and it is the most easily affected by activities that generate dust (especially fine particulates) and sulfur dioxide. Visibility

impacts occur from long-range transport of pollutants from as far away as the San Joaquin Valley and

the Los Angeles basin (RESOLVE study 1988, cited in

BLM 1995).

Local pollution sources in the desert consist primarily of particulate matter from off-road vehicles, windblown soil, mining operations, livestock grazing,

and agricultural activities. These sources have left

certain areas denuded or sparsely vegetated, allowing wind erosion to occur and air quality to suffer

and occasionally causing violations of particulate

standards at many locations.

Plan Actions

The Park will prepare guidelines for the developed

areas. These guidelines will be prepared to establish

visual consistency and themes in facility development. Guidelines will also be created for reaching

visual compatibility with surrounding landscapes,

significant architectural features, and site details.

The primary objective of guidelines will be to create

harmony between the built environment and the

natural environment.

With the increasing use of cellular communication

equipment, more antennas and relay equipment are

being installed throughout the country. The overall

management goal of each NPS unit will be to protect and maintain the visual quality of the landscape

and the built environment. The Park will implement

the following objectives for communications equipment proposals:

19The Plan

 Natural Resources
■ All above-ground communication equipment

should not significantly distract from the visual

quality of the scenery.

■ Each new proposal for radio or cellular antennas

or towers must demonstrate that the equipment will provide a critical service for visitors

and NPS staff and is not duplicative.

■ The installation of new equipment outside the

Park or on existing communication towers or at

defined sites should be considered before the

construction of new sites in Park is considered.

■ New locations will be reviewed through the

environmental assessment process, which must

consider impacts on the visual quality of the

scenery.

The National Park Service will work with neighboring landowners on topics of mutual interest being

sensitive to the influences and effects that Park

management might have on adjacent landowners.

The National Park Service will seek to enhance beneficial effects and to mitigate adverse effects in ways

consistent with its policies and management objectives. The agency will encourage compatible adjacent land uses and seek to mitigate potential

adverse effects on Park values by actively participating in planning and regulatory processes of neighboring jurisdictions, other federal, state, and local

agencies, and Native Americans.

Night Sky

Background

Within Death Valley National Park, the night sky

toward the southeast is noticeably impacted by

lights from Las Vegas, perhaps with some Pahrump,

Nevada influence. This is especially apparent while

heading south from Grapevine and Stovepipe

toward Cow Creek and Furnace Creek. Other light

sources are essentially limited to the Furnace Creek

and Stovepipe Wells areas of Death Valley National

Park, residential lighting from small communities

such as Shoshone and Death Valley Junction, vehicles, and minor stationary lighting. Nighttime activities at Briggs Mine and Panamint Valley limestone

quarry may be observed from Panamint Valley and

portions of Death Valley National Park overlooking

Panamint Valley. The Bureau of Land Management

has required an approved lighting plan that seeks to

minimize night sky pollution from the mine.

Plan Actions

The National Park Service will cooperate with neighbors and local government agencies to seek to minimize artificial light intrusion, recognizing that darkness and the night sky are part of the overall visitor

experience. The National Park Service will strive to

set the best example in all developments that

involve the use of artificial outdoor lighting, ensuring that it is limited to basic safety requirements and

is shielded to the maximum extent possible, to keep

light on the intended subject and out of the night

sky. Baseline light measurements will be established

for night use for monitoring changes over time.

Noise and Overflights

Background

A high level of traffic is observed along State

Highway 127 between Baker, California and Death

Valley Junction (Caltrans 1996). Vehicle noise is generally not an issue in the Park in spite of the many

and heavily used roads including State Highways

127, 190, and 178, and NPS major paved roads.

Because of the Park’s size, most areas are well away

from traffic and its noise.

Other areas where localized noise occurs are at the

BLM-managed Dumont Dunes off-highway vehicle

open area and at mining operations. Less localized

is noise from military overflights. Frequent low-level

military overflights are often seen in the Panamint

and Saline Valleys. If the National Training Center’s

(Fort Irwin) expansion is approved, sporadic and significant localized noise would be generated in the

southern boundary of Death Valley National Park

(BLM 1996).

The Park is in the vicinity of several U.S. Department

of Defense facilities: Fort Irwin Military Reservation,

China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, Edwards Air

Force Base, and Nellis Air Force Base. Military aircraft

from these facilities often use airspace in the Park.

Although aircraft noise does not appear to affect

wildlife, visitors to the area often react adversely to

jet noise and sonic booms. In addition, some booms

have caused damage to natural and cultural

resources (NPS 1988).

Military overflights constitute the primary source of

high-level noise incidents in the Park. Parts of the

Park are within a joint service R-2508 special use airspace complex designated as a military operations

area (MOA) (Saline, Panamint, and Shoshone

MOAs) that permits aircraft to fly at speeds exceeding 250 knots and at altitudes 200 feet above

ground level or higher (DOD 1995). The military

operations area is used on a daily basis by Navy and

Air Force aircraft. Low-level overflights of various military aircraft are common in the vicinity of the Park.

20
In 1976, the Joint Policy and Planning Board

Commanders (NAVAIRWPNSTA China Lake,

Edwards Air Force Base, Fort Irwin, and George Air

Force Base) agreed to restrict overflights above the

existing national monument boundaries to 3,000

feet above ground level within the R-2508

Complex. The successive creation of the Complex

Memorandums of Agreement in 1977 excluded this

airspace; however, the exclusion was not extended

to the expanded areas under the designated areas

below the 3,000-foot restriction. A process is in

place for all complaints and reports of overflight

restriction violations, forwarded by the National Park

Service or the public, to be investigated and handled

by the Complex management.

Title VIII of the California Desert Protection Act,

1994, provides that:

Nothing in this Act, the Wilderness Act, or other

land management laws generally applicable to

the new units of the National Park or

Wilderness Preservation Systems (or any additions to existing units) designated by this Act,

shall restrict or preclude low-level overflights of

military aircraft over such units, including military overflights that can be seen or heard within such units.

Plan Actions

The National Park Service will strive to preserve the

natural quiet and sounds associated with the physical and biological resources of the Park. Activities

causing excessive or unnecessary sounds in or adjacent to the Park, including low-level aircraft overflights, will be monitored, and action will be taken

to prevent or minimize unnatural sounds adversely

affecting Park resources and values or visitor enjoyment. The National Park Service will collaborate

with the Department of Defense to minimize

impacts on visitors and resources from military overflights, as authorized by sec. 802 of the California

Desert Protection Act.

Water Resources

Background

Groundwater. Groundwater is found throughout

the Park and varies greatly in depth and quality. The

Park’s groundwater basins are recharged from surface and subsurface infiltration. Depletion of

groundwater basins and a diminishing of water

quality are some of the concerns that were

expressed at public meetings. Groundwater is the

Park’s principal source for desert springs, seeps, and

streams. The maintenance of groundwater quality

and quantity is critical to the survival of desert surface

waters and their associated plant and animal life.

The major concern is that Park water and waterrelated resources will be affected by up-gradient

withdrawals and contamination. Death Valley

National Park receives much of its water from the

lower portion of the Death Valley groundwater flow

system’s flow from Nevada (Pal 1995). The Death

Valley groundwater flow system is defined in general terms as the area where groundwater flow is

toward Death Valley. Some groundwater inflow also

occurs from areas in California that are adjacent to

the Park. The Death Valley groundwater flow system

is believed, by the National Park Service, to be fully,

if not over, appropriated. Existing and future appropriations of limited water resources from the flow

system may result in impacts to Park water

resources. Additionally, potentially contaminated

groundwater plumes from the Nevada Test Site or

from cyanide runoff from the large mining operation near Bullfrog could contaminate the regional

aquifer that drains into the Park (NPS 1988). The

Bullfrog Mine is and will continue to conduct

groundwater testing until 2005. That company

reported that no ground water contamination has

been detected (Barrick/Bullfrog Mine, January 14,

1999 letter to NPS regarding the DEIS).

Water Use

Another site where extensive groundwater is being

used at rates that exceed normal groundwater

recharge is the Briggs Mine adjacent to the Park.

The Briggs Mine has an approved mining plan that

calls for the groundwater withdrawal of about 640

acre-feet per year (BLM, 1995a). This increase in

groundwater withdrawal is in addition to the existing groundwater withdrawal of 750 acre-feet per

year from the Panamint Valley (BLM 1995a).

Surface Water. Known surface water sources in

the Death Valley region include seeps, wells,

springs, and ponds. The small springs and seeps in

the Park offer isolated and limited water for plants,

wildlife, domestic, or commercial purposes. Some

springs produce potable water, but overall, water

quality is poor because of high dissolved mineral

concentrations (BLM 1996).

In 1972, some 330 water sources of varying

dependability and quality were recorded within the

monument’s boundaries (FWS 1972). The majority

of these water sources were found in the

Cottonwood, Panamint, and Grapevine mountains.

Discharges from these sources range from a minimal

21The Plan

 Natural Resources
seep to rates exceeding 200 gallons per minute.

Death Valley’s enlargement to a National Park in

1994 added an additional 1.3 million acres. These

new lands include additional water sources such as

Darwin Creek, Saline Warm Spring, and many

springs in the Nelson Range and Whippoorwill Flat

areas of the Inyo Mountains.

Death Valley’s perennial streams include Salt Creek,

Furnace Creek, Cottonwood Creek, and Darwin

Creek. The Amargosa River is also perennial, but only

for short stretches, with its length varying seasonally.

Other streams flow seasonally from springs in some

of the larger canyons on the west side of Death

Valley, such as in Hanaupah and Johnson canyons

(NPS 1988).

Perennial ponds are rare within the Park, and they

fluctuate in size with the season. The largest ones

(more than 6 acres) are immediately north of

Saratoga Springs. Several artificial ponds and ditches supplied by the Travertine Springs are maintained

by AMFAC, Inc., on its Furnace Creek properties

(NPS 1988).

Cattle ranching, mining, and resort development in

the desert required changes in the natural water

flow, quality, and supply. Flows from springs and

seeps were diverted or dammed, water was piped

miles away from the source, wells were drilled, stock

tanks were excavated, and other developments were

needed such as wind mills and troughs. These

changes brought with them changes to the natural

environment. When the flows from the springs and

seeps were diverted, the remaining aquatic/riparian

flora and fauna were greatly reduced or eliminated.

The water piped from the springs and seeps or taken

from wells and piped to tanks and troughs is used by

cattle, burros, and wildlife.

Water Rights. Initial research on outstanding water

rights in the Park at the State Water Resources

Control Board in Sacramento revealed that there are

approximately 45 appropriated water rights claims on

41 water sources (springs, seeps, streams, wells) in

the Park.

The California Desert Protection Act of 1994 in section 706(a), with respect to each wilderness area,

reserves a quantity of water sufficient to fulfill the

purposes of the act. Section 706(b) mandates that

the Secretary of the Interior and all other officers of

the United States take “all steps necessary to protect the rights reserved by this section.” Federal

reserved rights generally arise from the purposes for

the reservation of land by the federal government.

When the government reserves land for a particular

purpose, it also reserves, explicitly or by implication,

enough unappropriated water at the time of the

reservation as is necessary to accomplish the purposes for which Congress or the President authorized the land to be reserved, without regard to the

limitations of state law. The vested rights are valid as

of the date of the reservation, whether or not the

water is actually put to use, and are superior to the

rights of those who commence the use of water

after the reservation date. General adjudications are

the means by which the federal government claims

its reserved water rights. The McCarran

Amendment (66 Stat. 560, 43 U.S.C. 666, June 10,

1952) provides the mechanism by which the United

States, when properly joined, consents to be a

defendant in a suit to adjudicate water rights. The

precise nature and extent of the National Park

Service’s water rights probably will remain uncertain

until the United States is joined in an adjudication,

the Department of Justice files claims to water rights

on behalf of the National Park Service, and the court

decrees the United States. Hence, it is the responsibility of both the National Park Service and the

Bureau of Land Management to protect the

reserved water rights established under the

California Desert Protection Act and other applicable federal authorities.

Death Valley National Park was involved in a historic

water rights decision, when the U. S. Supreme

Court in 1976 determined that the NPS had a

reserved water right to a certain level of groundwater at Devils Hole. This Supreme Court action is frequently referred to as Cappaert v. United States. The

purpose of the reserved water right is to maintain

the water level in Devils Hole to assure the survival

of the Devils Hole pupfish, an endangered species.

Water Developments. A guzzler is a permanent

self-filling water catchment. Most are similar to a

cistern and are simple, low-maintenance devices

that are essentially tanks filled by rain-collecting

aprons (Giles 1971). Guzzlers are installed and used

to provide water for hunted species in arid areas.

Nongame species such as reptiles, songbirds, and

insects also use these manufactured devices. Birds

enter the covered tank through an opening and

walk down a ramp to the water. For bighorn sheep,

piping extends from the storage tank to a drinking

trough, which has a float valve to regulate the flow.

Death Valley National Park has five big game and

two game bird (gallinaceous) guzzlers. The guzzlers

22
23

were developed by the California Department of

Fish and Game, the Bureau of Land Management,

and volunteers prior to the Park’s expansion in

1994. A review of guzzler use by Park staff concluded that two of the big game guzzlers received

little or no use.

Plan Actions

Water Use. Water will be used efficiently and frugally in the Park. The National Park Service will seek

to protect, perpetuate, and possibly restore surface

water and groundwater as integral components of

Park aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Surface

water and groundwater withdrawn for the Park’s

use will be the amount necessary to achieve Park

purposes. All water withdrawn from the Park for

domestic use will be returned to the Park watershed

system once it has been treated to ensure that there

will be no impairment of Park resources. Interbasin

transfers would be avoided. If adverse effects were

found, the National Park Service will take all legal

and appropriate steps necessary to protect natural

resources from the effects attributed to such activities. The ongoing water-monitoring program will

continue. Death Valley National Park will seek to

restore, maintain, or enhance the quality of all surface and ground waters within the Park consistent

with the Clean Water Act and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

The Park will continue to maintain the water levels

at Devils Hole, the home of the endangered Devils

Hole pupfish. The Park will continue to actively

monitor the pool’s water elevation. The Park will

continue to be involved in an interagency effort to

monitor the water flow in the Death Valley

Groundwater Flow System to help ensure that any

major water extraction that might occur miles away

from the Park do not adversely affect the Park’s

resources. Monitoring other wells and springs within the Park including Darwin Falls and in at least

nine water delivery systems will also continue.

Floodplain and Wetland Areas. The occupancy

and modification of floodplain and wetland areas

will be avoided wherever possible. Where no practicable alternatives exist, mitigating measures will be

implemented to minimize potential harm to life,

property, and the natural floodplain and wetland

values. Management of floodplain and wetland

areas is subject to the provisions of Executive Order

11988, “Floodplain Management”, Executive Order

11990, “Protection of Wetlands,” and the Rivers

and Harbors Act, and section 404 of the Clean

Water Act.

Water Rights. Since 1976 the NPS has been actively protecting the water right to the Devils Hole area.

The NPS believes the continuation of this approach

is vital to the long term viability and survival of the

Devils Hole pupfish and other Park resources.

The NPS participates in California and Nevada

administrative water rights proceedings to protect

Federal reserved, riparian, and appropriative rights

established for Death Valley National Park. The purpose of this participation is to protect Park water

rights from injury by threats such as new appropriations for groundwater located upgradient of Park

water sources.

NPS Management Policies (2001) state:

All rights to the use of water diverted to or

used on federal lands within the national park

system by the United States or its concessioners, lessors, or permittees will be perfected in

the name of the United States.

The National Park Service in its general planning

process for each unit of the national park system

The Plan

 Natural Resources
and the Bureau of Land Management in its planning

process for each wilderness area have jointly agreed

to incorporate their respective policies, guidelines,

and administrative procedures and apply the following principles to discharge their responsibilities under

section 706 of the California Desert Protection Act to

manage and protect federal reserved water rights

(Desert Managers Group 1995):

■ inventory all water sources within the boundaries of the wilderness area/park unit

■ share water source inventory data

■ jointly request from the California Division of

Water Rights notification of any filing for

appropriated water rights within or adjacent

to the boundaries of BLM wilderness or units

of the national park system

■ defend federally reserved water rights through

the state of California administrative process

and, if necessary, seek judicial remedy in the

appropriate courts

■ quantify the amount of water reserved to fulfill

the purpose of the reservation as part of any

adjudication in California in which the United

States may be joined under the McCarran

Amendment

■ where necessary, pursue acquisition of any existing nonfederal appropriated water right within

their respective jurisdictions

■ identify as a federally reserved water right all

unappropriated water from any water source

identified on federal lands within the boundaries of designated wilderness and/or park

areas in the California desert

■ because use of percolating groundwater does

not require a permit from the state of California,

participate in local government proceedings that

authorize nonfederal parties to withdraw percolating groundwater where such withdrawals

may impact water sources within their respective jurisdictions to which federally reserved

water rights are attached

■ participate in any proceedings pursuant to

Nevada state water law that may authorize

withdrawal of groundwater where such withdrawal may impact water sources within their

jurisdictions to which federally reserved or

appropriated water rights are attached

■ vigorously defend water travelling to the Park

in the Death Valley aquifer from Nevada

■ work with holders of water rights to restore

modified water sources to natural conditions

while still allowing for valid existing uses

Water Developments. The National Park Service

will examine the use of and need for all guzzlers,

livestock tanks, and troughs (hereafter referred to as

developed water sites). Water at developed water

sites will be retained for native plants and wildlife if

these facilities were needed to mitigate for local

water losses due to previous human activities.

Simultaneously, with the retention of these developed water sites, the National Park Service will

actively begin to restore natural water sources to be

self-sustaining. When a water source became selfsustaining, the artificial facility will be removed.

Requests to use motorized access to guzzlers in

wilderness areas (to maintain guzzlers or replenish

water) will be reviewed individually. If livestock use,

including water use, degrades wilderness values,

the number of livestock would be reduced to the

appropriate level.

Water is necessary for livestock grazing on NPS

lands. The amount of water that will be diverted or

used for livestock will be maintained for the animals’ health. If and when animal unit months

(AUMs) were reduced (no increase in AUMs is

allowed under the California Desert Protection Act)

a concurrent reduction in water for livestock purposes will be expected. The National Park Service

will examine these developed water facilities and

take action, where appropriate, to restore natural

waters. If the National Park Service did not own the

water rights, the agency will work with the owners

to encourage them to consider the benefits of natural water restoration to restore modified water

sources to natural conditions while still allowing for

valid existing uses.

Paleontological Resources

Background

Death Valley National Park contains a rich and

diverse, but fragile and irreplaceable paleontological

record. The fossil record in the Park area is nearly as

extensive and complicated as the geological record.

Much of the area’s geology is exceptionally well

exposed. Soil development has been greatly retarded throughout much of the area, and the outstanding exposures of geological features support an

equally notable exposure of fossil remains. These

organisms have value as (1) stratigraphic indicators

for correlation of deposits containing them and for

determination of relative geologic age (2) records of

past life forms showing the course of evolutionary

trends of plants and animals and (3) evidence of

changing paleoenvironments.

24
A literature and records search was completed for

the Death Valley National Park region by Earth

Sciences curator, Robert E. Reynolds, at San

Bernardino County Museum in Redlands. The

records and literature search identified a number of

potentially sensitive fossiliferous areas within the

Park area. Significant paleontological resources and

records relating to paleobiostratigraphic events that

occur within the Park include:

■ The world’s oldest mitosing cells, 990 million

years old, are preserved in silica in the Beck

Spring Formation.

■ Significant Cambrian trilobite and invertebrate

fossil localities that mark the boundary of the

Paleozoic Era, 550 million years of age.

■ Significant occurrences of Paleozoic invertebrate fossils and the possibility of very old fossil

fish in Death Valley National Park.

■ Panamint Range localities that contain significant

marine cephalopods and invertebrate fossils.

■ The early record of the Oligocene Tertiary Era

from north of the Mojave Desert is found in the

Grapevine Mountains in Death Valley National

Park; important fossils include rodent, canid,

horse, helaletid, brontothere, rhinoceros, oredont, and leptomerycids.

■ Extremely important Late Miocene trackways,

associated with important vertebrate fossils,

occur in the Black Mountains in Death Valley

National Park and in the Avawatz Mountains

south of the Park; the Black Mountains area

includes a wide range of camel, horse, gompothere, and aquatic bird trackways associated

with a shallow freshwater lakeshore.

Plan Actions

Some paleontological research has been initiated or

funded by the National Park Service. Most is accomplished by outside institutions that request and

receive NPS research permits. The institutions, in

exchange for the opportunity to study NPS resources,

agree to provide information that the National Park

Service can use to develop strategies for resource protection, management, and interpretation.

Paleontological resources, including both organic

and mineralized remains in body or trace form, will

be protected and preserved for public enjoyment,

interpretation, and scientific research in accordance

with Park management objectives and approved

resource management plans. Although paleontological research by the academic community will be

encouraged and facilitated under research permits

subject to NPS management criteria, the National

Park Service will enhance its own knowledge of

paleontological resources through comprehensive

inventory and monitoring programs. To enhance the

conservation and management of paleontological

resources, the National Park Service will seek to

develop collaborative partnerships with government

agencies, academic institutions, and public and private organizations with paleontological resource

management or research capabilities/expertise.

Management actions will be taken to prevent illegal

collecting. Actions also might be taken to prevent

damage from natural processes such as erosion.

Protection could include construction of shelters

over specimens for interpretation in situ, stabilization

in the field, or collecting, preparing, and placing of

specimens in museum collections. The localities and

geologic settings of specimens will be adequately

documented when specimens were collected.

Geological Resources

Background

Death Valley National Park is, geologically speaking,

a part of the larger Basin and Range Province. The

Park’s oldest rocks were formed about 1.8 billion

years ago. The weathered sandstone and limestone

rocks from the Funeral and Panamint Mountains are

much younger, about 500 million years old, and

indicate that this area was the site of a warm, shallow sea throughout most of the Paleozoic Era

(570–250 million years ago).

About 3 million years ago, the dynamics of crustal

movement changed, and Death Valley proper began

to form. At this time, compressional forces were

replaced by extensional forces. This “pulling apart”

of the earth’s crust allowed large blocks of land to

slowly slide past one another along faults, forming

alternating valleys and mountain ranges. Badwater

Basin, the Death Valley salt pan, and the Panamint

Mountain Range comprise one block that is rotating

eastward as a structural unit. The valley floor has

been steadily slipping downward, subsiding along

the fault that lies at the base of the Black

Mountains. Down-dropping continues today.

Concurrent with the subsidence has been slow but

continuous erosion. Water carries rocks, sand, and

gravel down from surrounding hills and deposits the

pieces on the valley floor. Beneath Badwater lies

over 9,000 feet of accumulated sediments and salts.

Recent signs of volcanic activity exist in the northern

third of the Park at Ubehebe Crater. Caused by violent steam explosions, the craters formed several

25The Plan

 Natural Resources
thousand years ago when molten material came in

contact with groundwater.

There are five dune areas within the Park. They are

located near Saratoga Springs, Stovepipe Wells,

Panamint Springs, Saline Valley, and Eureka Valley.

“[The Eureka Valley Dunes are] the highest dunes in

the Basin and Range Province and possibly in the

United States. When observed at sunset from the

west, against the backdrop of the Last Chance

Range, its nearly vertical west facing slopes resemble a marvelous parfait-like melange of pink, white

and numerous other tones of earth colored rocks”

(BLM 1982).

Plan Actions

Park geological features will be protected. Certain

fragile geological features, such as sand dunes and

salt flats will be monitored to determine if measures

were needed to prevent or stop human-caused

damage. Mapping by U.S. Geological Survey will be

conducted to map Death Valley National Park’s

renowned exposed geology. Resource protection

will continue to consist of random patrols of the

backcountry as well as limited public closures to protect sensitive sites.

Cave Resources

Background

Caves, as defined by the Federal Cave Resources

Protection Act, include any natural feature that a

person can enter. They include talus caves, erosional caves, dissolution caves, lava tubes, and others.

They do not include mine adits, shafts, or declines.

Caves are not common in Death Valley. The most

significant cave is Devils Hole.

Plan Actions

NPS Management Policies (2001) provide that caves

be managed to perpetuate their atmospheric, geological, biological, ecological, and cultural resources in

accordance with approved cave management plans.

Natural drainage patterns, air flows, and plant and animal communities are to be protected. In general, the

NPS management direction is to avoid development of

caves and to perpetuate natural conditions, while seeking to protect the resource. Devils Hole is closed to

public use to protect the endangered pupfish.

BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT

Background

Death Valley National Park and the adjacent desert

support a variety of wildlife species. Within Death

Valley and the surrounding desert there are 51

species of native mammals, two species of exotic

mammals, over 346 species of birds, 36 species of

reptiles, three species of amphibians, and six species

of fishes (Hansen 1972 and 1973; Landye 1973).

Small mammals are more numerous than large

mammals, such as desert bighorn, bobcat, mountain lion and mule deer.

The Nelson bighorn (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) is the

subspecies native to Death Valley. Bighorn occur in

desert mountain ranges where the terrain includes

rolling hills for feeding areas and nearby cliffs within steep canyons that can be used for escape. Their

range does not correlate with any specific vegetative

type. The present population is estimated to be

between 500 and 1000 animals. Some researchers

believe that the sheep population in the Park is

declining in numbers. The cause of this possible

decline has not been determined; however, several

factors may be involved, including the introduction

of diseases from livestock, poor range conditions,

rapid increase in human activities (such as mining,

road building, urbanization, and increased recreation), illegal hunting, and appropriation of water

(Seymour 1972). Competition with other animals

and drying of springs are additional factors resulting

in loss of habitat. Alternatively, it may be possible

that the Park herd is not declining, and the use of

different census methods that have varying degrees

of accuracy are responsible for “fluctuating” numbers of sheep. To reduce visitor impacts and prevent

undue disturbance of wildlife, backcountry camping

is not permitted within .25 mile of springs.

The diversity of Death Valley National Park’s plant

communities result partly from the region’s location

in the Mojave Desert, a zone of tension and overlap

between the Great Basin Desert to the north and

the Sonoran Desert to the south (Kearney and

Peebles 1960). This location, combined with the

great relief found within the Park — from 282 feet

below sea level to 11,049 feet above sea level —

supports vegetation typical of four biotic life zones:

the lower Sonoran, the Canadian, and even the

Arctic/Alpine in portions of the Panamint Range

(Jepson 1923; Storer and Usinger 1968). Based on

Munz and Keck (1968) classifications, seven plant

communities can be categorized within these life

zones, each characterized by dominant vegetation

and representative of three vegetation types: scrub,

desert woodland, and coniferous forest.

Microhabitats further subdivide some communities

into zones, especially on the valley floor.

Scrub or Desert. Scrub is the most extensive vegetation type in Death Valley. It dominates about

26
three-fourths of the Park landscape and includes the

alkali sink, creosote bush scrub, shadscale scrub,

and sagebrush scrub communities. The alkali sink or

salt flat community occurs in the lower elevations of

the Park.

Desert Woodland. Desert woodland is an open,

well-spaced community ranging from elevations of

about 7,000 feet up to about 9,500 feet. Much of

the soil within this community is bare and surfaced

with a hard, wind scoured layer similar to desert

pavement. The community is dominated by singleleaf pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla) and scattered

individuals of juniper (Juniperus osteosperma).

Coniferous Forest. Coniferous forest in Death

Valley National Park includes subalpine forest and

some bristlecone pine forests. Both communities

occur in narrow belts at upper elevations.

Dominants of subalpine forest, including limber

pine (Pinus flexilis), occur in mosaic concentrations

rather than uniformly throughout the area. The

bristlecone pine forest community occurs chiefly

above 10,000 feet in the Panamint Range, where

spacing of individual bristlecones (Pinus aristata)

and limber pine (Pinus flexilis) appear more as an

open woodland rather than a forest.

SPECIES AND HABITATS OF SPECIAL

CONSIDERATION

Within Death Valley National Park there are confirmed populations or habitats for 21 state or federally recognized species of concern.

Federally listed species in Death Valley include:

desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), Devils Hole

pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis), southwestern willow

flycatcher (Empidonax trailli extimus), least Bell’s

vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus), Eureka Dunes evening

primrose (Oenothera californica ssp. eurekensis),

Eureka Valley dunegrass (Swallenia alexandrae), and

spring-loving centaury (Centaurium namophilum).

Federally listed species for which final recovery plans

exist are desert tortoise, Devils Hole pupfish, Eureka

Dunes evening primrose, and Eureka Valley dunegrass. A draft recovery plan is in development for

the least Bell’s vireo.

California listed species, other than those also federally listed or proposed, are California (or western)

yellow billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus occidentalis), willow flycatcher (Empidonax trailli),

Cottonball Marsh pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus milleri), and Mohave ground squirrel (Spermophilus

mohavensis).

California rare plant species, not otherwise federally listed or proposed, are July gold (Dedeckera

eurekensis) and rock lady (Maurandya petrophila).

Desert Tortoise

The range of the desert tortoise includes the Mojave

and Sonoran deserts in southern California,

Arizona, southern Nevada, the southwestern tip of

Utah, and Sonora and northern Sinaloa, Mexico.

The Mojave population of the desert tortoise (an

administrative designation for animals living north

and west of the Colorado River) is listed as a threatened species by the Federal government and the

state of California. Critical habitat for this species

was designated in 1994 (FWS 1994). There is no

desert tortoise designated critical habitat within

Death Valley National Park. The desert tortoise’s

range within Death Valley National Park extends to

its southern half. Within the Park the current populations (and for at least the last 60 years) are not

believed to be very numerous.

The Mojave population of the desert tortoise occurs

primarily in valleys and on bajadas characterized by

scattered shrubs. The soils range from sand to

sandy-gravel, though caliche soils, desert pavement,

and rocky, boulder terrain are occasionally used.

Desert tortoises spend a large portion of the year

underground to avoid extreme temperatures and,

for younger tortoises, to avoid a variety of predators, such as coyotes, foxes, raptors, and ravens

(BLM 1996). Tortoises are active during the spring,

early summer, and autumn when annual plants are

most common and daily temperatures are tolerable.

Additional activity occasionally occurs during warm

weather in winter months and after summer rainstorms (BLM 1996).

Species Addressed in the Ash

Meadows Recovery Plan

Devils Hole is a small tract of land administered by

Death Valley National Park while part of a larger

spring complex in Nevada called Ash Meadows.

Devils Hole falls within the boundaries of Ash

Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. A limestone

cave at Devils Hole, bearing the same name, is the

only natural habitat of the Devils Hole pupfish

(Cyprinodon diabolis), listed as endangered by the

federal government and state of Nevada. The

underground aquifer determines the cave’s water

level, which has no surface outlet. Historic and

27The Plan

 Natural Resources
ongoing mining of groundwater in Ash Meadows

has occasionally directly lowered the water level in

Devils Hole, occasionally exposing a shallow limestone shelf on which the pupfish depend for food

and spawning (Soltz and Naiman 1978; E.P. Pister,

pers. comm., 1997).

Decline of the Devils Hole pupfish drove litigation

resulting in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding

the maintenance of a minimum water level at the

cave. From 1980 to at least 1990, the population

status was upward but “persistently small and localized.” The species is considered not delistable; criteria for its protection are the maintenance of water

levels and water chemistry. Other species of special

consideration located at the limestone cave or at

springs within the 40 acres are: Devils Hole warm

springs riffle beetle, Amargosa tryonia snail (Tryonia

variegata), (FWS 1990). Water levels are currently

monitored by the National Park Service. The combined records from water level monitoring by the

National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey

dating from the 1960s demonstrated a maximum

level of recovery in 1989; thereafter, a downward

trend has persisted.

The 1990 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Plan

for listed species of Ash Meadows embraced goals of

the 1980 recovery plan for the Devils Hole pupfish

and addressed the following federally listed species

located at Ash Meadows, Nevada, and on National

Park Service or BLM-managed areas within adjacent

lands in California:

spring-loving centaury (Centaurium namophilum

namophilum) — FT, NVCE

Ash Meadows sunray (Enceliopsis nudicaulis var.

corrugata) — FT, NVCE

Ash Meadows gumplant (Grindelia fraxino-pratensis)

— FT, NV Watch List.

Also noted were Ash Meadows endemics.

Essential habitat for the Devils Hole pupfish includes

21,760 acres encompassing the area where groundwater removal most influences the water level in

Devils Hole.

Amargosa pupfish and speckled dace, Amargosa niterwort, spring loving centaury, Ash Meadows sunray,

Ash Meadows gumplant, alkali mariposa lily, Tecopa

bird’s beak, and white bear poppy range into California

at locations along the Amargosa drainage and at various sites supporting stream, spring, salt marsh, moist

alkaline soil, calcareous, or riparian habitats.

Riparian-Dependent Bird Species

southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax trailli

extimus) — FE, sp. level CAE

least Bell’s vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus) — FE

California/western yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus

americanus occidentalis) — CAE

Small numbers of all three species have been confirmed along the Amargosa River and in Death

Valley.

Federal recovery planning is underway for both the

vireo and flycatcher. There is no critical habitat located within Death Valley National Park for either subspecies.

The western yellow-billed cuckoo, state endangered

since 1988, generally requires a broader stand of

riparian growth than the vireo or flycatcher,

although loss of riparian habitat is the major common factor influencing the decline of all.

The cuckoo does not appear to be affected by

brood parasitism by the brown-headed cowbird

(Molothrus ater) which is a severe problem for the

vireo and flycatcher. In this behavior, cowbirds introduce their offspring to the nest and care of a host

bird species, competing directly with the success of

the host’s young and sometimes eating or ejecting

the host’s eggs. (Thelander 1994). If a cowbird problem is identified, Death Valley would work with the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a solution

to cowbird nest parasitism.

Species Addressed in the Eureka Valley

Dunes Recovery Plan

Eureka Valley evening primrose (Oenothera californica ssp. eurekensis) — FE

Eureka Valley dunegrass (Swallenia alexandrae) — FE

shining milk-vetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var.

micans) (note: has been removed from FPT list)

Sodaville milk-vetch (Astragalus lentiginosus

sesquimetralis) — CAE, NVCE, (note: has been

removed from FPT list)

Prior to the administrative transfer to the National

Park Service in 1994, the Bureau of Land

Management established the Eureka Valley area of

critical environmental concern and in 1982, the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service adopted the Eureka Valley

Dunes Recovery Plan. Stemming from these, by

draft agreement, a voluntary joint conservation

strategy is being developed by the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service and Death Valley National Park to

28
protect sites where there are two federally listed and

two sensitive plants. The agreement targets actions

over entire dune ecosystems to benefit these plants

and other species of special consideration including

endemic beetles. Two federally endangered species,

Eureka Valley evening primrose (Oenothera californica ssp. eurekensis) and Eureka Valley dunegrass

(Swallenia alexandrae), and a sensitive species, shining milk-vetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. micans),

are only found on dunes within Death Valley

National Park. Additionally, the California population

of another sensitive species, Sodaville milk-vetch

(Astragalus lentiginosus sesquimetralis), is located at

the Park (Diane Steeck, pers. comm., 1997).

The largest population of Eureka Valley dunegrass is

found on high, unstable areas of Eureka Dunes,

with remaining known stands located in smaller

dunes on the west side of Eureka Valley. The major

occurrence of Eureka Valley evening-primrose is at

Eureka Dunes, but this species is also known from

two smaller sites on the west side of Eureka Valley,

growing on lower slopes and dune flats. Eureka

Dunes and one site on the western Eureka Valley

comprise the known range of shining milk-vetch,

which grows on mid- and lower-dune slopes and

some sandy flats. Sodaville milk-vetch has been

found at Death Valley National Park and at two sites

in Nevada; it relies on margins of alkaline wetlands,

near cool springs (Diane Steeck, pers. comm., 1997).

Notable recolonization of shining milk-vetch has

occurred in areas where motorized vehicle use is no

longer authorized, but concerns remain with occasional motorcycle and other vehicle trespass, vandalism to barriers and signs and other human uses,

including sandboarding/skiing and horseback riding.

Possible encroachment and competition with the midand lower-dune endemics by the nonnative Russian

thistle (Salsola sp.) is another concern. It is believed

that the most persistent threat to the Sodaville milkvetch population at Big Sand Spring has been habitat

trampling and modification by burros and cattle

(Diane Steeck, pers. comm., 1997). This area has been

fenced by the Park to protect the plants.

Other Death Valley National Park Rare

Plants

July gold (Dedeckera eurekensis) — CA Rare

rock lady (Maurandya petrophila) — CA Rare

The July gold (Dedeckera eurekensis) and rock lady

(Maurandya petrophila) grow only in areas containing carbonate soils.

Cottonball Marsh pupfish

The Cottonball Marsh pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus

milleri), a killifish subspecies, is found only in Death

Valley, in “portions of Cottonball Marsh on the west

side of the central valley floor approximately 5 miles

south of Salt Creek” (Death Valley National

Monument Draft General Management Plan 1988).

The pupfish is a listed California Threatened species.

Threats to its survival include direct and indirect

habitat alteration from changes to water levels,

quality, and/or chemistry. An overall concern with

regional water diversion is not limited to this

species, rather, it has the potential to affect a large

number of sensitive aquatic species (including

insects and snails) and riparian obligates.

Mohave ground squirrel

The only known occurrence of the Mohave ground

squirrel (Spermophilus mohavensis) in Death Valley

National Park is at Lee Flat. The ground squirrel is a

listed as a California Threatened species. This represents the northernmost extension of the squirrel’s

range, which is limited to the northwestern Mojave

Desert. No records exist of traditional or current

presence of the squirrel in Panamint Valley nor

Saline Valley (Leitner, pers. comm. 1997).

Although previously found in a variety of vegetation

associations to 5,600 feet elevation, the species

seems to “prefer large alluvial-filled valleys and

deep, fine-to-medium textured soils vegetated with

creosote bush scrub, shadscale scrub, or alkali sink

scrub wherever desert pavement is absent” (FWS

1995a). Winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata) and

spiny hopsage (Grayia spinosa) are important

dietary components; the squirrel favors forbs in wet

years and winterfat in dry years. The diets of domestic sheep more closely overlap that of the Mohave

ground squirrel than do those of cattle or feral burros (Leitner, pers. comm. 1997).

The species’ state threatened status is based on

habitat loss due to agriculture, recreational, and military vehicle use. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (FWS) reviewed a petition to list the species

as federally threatened. While the FWS continued

monitoring for impacts due to habitat degradation/

fragmentation and drought, determined a lack of

sufficient information to warrant a status review

(FWS 1995b; FWS 1995c). Substantial new information is still lacking about recent trends in squirrel

populations, historic occupied range, current habitat, and vulnerability of key populations (Gustafson,

pers. comm. 1997).

29The Plan

 Natural Resources
Other Sensitive Animals

Bighorn sheep are found in most of the Park’s

mountain ranges. Although there has been no

recent surveys, Dr. Douglas who has conducted

extensive research on bighorn sheep, believes that

the sheep populations are stable (UNLV, pers.

comm., 1999). Existing threats to this species

include tamarisk invasion of springs and resource

competition with feral burros.

The many abandoned mines within the Park provide

excellent habitat for many bat species. Any mine

reclamation and its potential disturbance would initial include an environmental assessment and implementation of mitigation for the bats.

Riparian habitats are valuable for other species as

well. The “Partners in Flight” organization lists 14

birds species dependent on riparian habitats including the black-headed grosbeak, blue grosbeak,

common yellowthroat, song sparrow, Swainson’s

thrush, warbling vireo, Wilson’s warble, yellowbreasted chat, and yellow warbler.

Plan Actions

The National Park Service will develop guidance for

management and conservation of biotic resources

at the appropriate time. The National Park Service

will identify and promote the conservation of all

federally listed or proposed threatened or endangered species and their critical habitats within Park

boundaries in ways that were consistent with the

purposes of the Endangered Species Act. As necessary, the National Park Service will control visitor

access to and use of critical habitats and might limit

access to especially sensitive areas. Active management programs will be conducted as necessary to

perpetuate the natural distribution and abundance

of threatened or endangered species and the

ecosystems on which they depend.

The National Park Service has prepared a list of all

known federal, state, and locally listed threatened,

endangered, rare, declining, sensitive, or candidate

species that are native to and present in the Park, as

well as their critical habitats. Controlling access to

critical habitats or conducting active management

programs will be considered that will be similar to

activities conducted to perpetuate the natural distribution and abundance of federally listed species.

Plant and animal species considered rare or unique

to the Park will be identified and their distribution

will be mapped. All management actions for protection and perpetuation of special status species

will be determined through the Park’s updated natural and cultural resource management plan or sitespecific planning efforts.

Death Valley National Park will continue to manage

and protect the 40-acre area known as Devils Hole,

its endangered pupfish and other sensitive aquatic

and terrestrial plants and animals. This area is within the external boundaries of Ash Meadows Wildlife

Refuge managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service. NPS activities at Devils Hole include biannual pupfish counts, servicing of water monitoring

equipment, and intermittent inventory/research

activities. Each of these activities is designed to

monitor the long-term status of the pupfish or its

habitat.

Devils Hole pupfish counts will be conducted on a

biannual basis. These counts will be scheduled for

the spring and fall of each calendar year. The spring

count is typically conducted in March or April, and

the fall count is conducted in September or October.

During a given census day, a morning and an afternoon count will be made at Devils Hole.

The water level monitoring program utilizes different types of equipment that store digital and hard

copy formats of information. Operation and maintenance of the facility consists of bi-monthly inspections, monthly data retrieval, and periodic/annual

maintenance. The bi-monthly inspections provide

assurance of the correct equipment alignment with

the staff gauges, data acquisition, equipment operation, equipment damage or misalignment resulting

from seismic induced water level surges, and evidence of any vandalism to the site. Hydrologic field

technicians also inspect, service, and replace equipment at Devils Hole three to five times per year.

Because Devils Hole possesses unique geologic and

hydrologic characteristics, Park staff expect that a

variety of research and/or inventory projects will be

proposed at Devils Hole over the next several years.

Many of these projects will be designed to provide

baseline and research documentation of the hydrologic aspects and physical components of the pool.

These studies may include but not be limited to

measurements that involve dissolved oxygen content and distribution, existence and physical parameters of convection currents, water chemistry

parameters, dimensions of the subterranean extent

of the cavern, etc. Some of the proposed studies

may also relate to biological components in the

aquatic system.

30
Park staff have recently initiated a three year indepth ecology study of the Devils Hole ecosystem.

The study will provide a comprehensive inventory of

the biological components that are present in the

aquatic habitat (fish, invertebrates, and algae). The

study will also describe the inter-related nature of

the different species that are present, so a long-term

monitoring and protection program for the entire

biological community can be developed.

A site management plan has been prepared for the

Eureka Dunes area. This plan, in consultation with

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, addresses the protection of sensitive species. Actions considered in

this plan include moving both parking areas to less

sensitive sites, a step-up plan for limiting human

activities, if necessary, controlling actions on exotic

Russian thistle, converting a hodgepodge of roads

to foot access, and continuing the main access road

in a graded, dirt condition. These will further

enhance the protection of sensitive species as a

result of being within Death Valley National Park.

Introduced Species

Background

Exotic species can include both plants and animals.

They are generally defined as those species that

occur in a given place as a result of direct or indirect,

deliberate, or accidental actions by humans.

Examples of exotic species in the Park include

wildlife such as burros and chukar and plants like

tamarisk and Russian thistle.

Plan Actions

Nonnative plants and animals will not be introduced

except under the most unusual circumstances (i.e.,

historic landscape restoration at Scotty’s Castle). The

management of populations of exotic plant and animal species, up to and including eradication, will be

undertaken wherever such species threaten Park

resources or public health and when control is prudent and feasible.

Burros and Wild Horses

Background

From about 1920 to the 1960s, burro populations

were kept at low levels by government agencies like

the National Park Service and by the public. These

efforts to reduce or eliminate feral burros from

national park lands were park managers’ response

to the burros damaging park resources and changing the ecological composition at the expense of the

park’s native biotic communities.

In the 1950s the states of Arizona and California

passed burro protection laws that limited the killing

of these animals by private citizens. In the late

1960s, Grand Canyon National Park was prevented

by public outcry from continuing the 40-year custom of shooting burros (NPS 1979). In 1971 the

Federal Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was

passed. This act limited the killing of horses and burros on public lands administered by the Bureau of

Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. This

law does not apply to NPS lands.

Before the passage of the California Desert

Protection Act wild horse numbers were few to

none within California desert national park units.

Presently, the wild horse numbers within NPS units

are low, about 10–20 animals. However, numbers

are high in the four BLM herd management areas

that are adjacent to Death Valley National Park. In

these herd management areas, there are about 305

wild horses (BLM 1995b).

Before the passage of the California Desert

Protection Act, the Bureau of Land Management

managed 13 herd management areas in the

California Desert District. Now the agency manages

nine herd management areas, with four former

herd management areas now within areas managed

by the National Park Service. Of the Bureau of Land

Management’s remaining nine herd management

areas, four are outside the Northern and Eastern

Mojave planning area. The National Park Service

agreed to manage new park lands to existing BLM

authorized herd management levels until management plans were in place. These management levels

are 334 burros and 9 wild horses for Death Valley.

The existing burro population levels for the new

lands added to Death Valley National Park greatly

exceed the BLM herd management levels.

Nevada’s BLM Las Vegas Field Office has two herd

management areas adjacent to the Park, Amargosa

and Ash Meadows herd management areas. Both

are south of Amargosa Valley, Nevada, and both

presently have zero animals and have management

levels of zero animals. Other herd management

areas within this resource area are at least 6 miles

from the stateline. The Bureau of Land

Managements policy is to remove all burros outside

of their herd management areas.

Death Valley National Monument was established in

1933. In 1938 there were an estimated 1,500 burros in the monument, occurring in both the

Panamint Range on the west and the Amargosa

31The Plan

 Natural Resources
Range on the east side of Death Valley. Burro reduction had started on a limited scale in 1939 and was

carried on more extensively between 1958 and

1967. By 1967, 3,570 burros had been removed

from the population: 1,790 by live trapping and

removal, and 1,780 by direct reduction (shooting).

In 1968, due to public sentiment, shooting was discontinued. Although all burros have been removed

from the east side of the monument, by fall of

1970, there were an estimated 1,350 in the

Panamint Range.

In 1973 the Park staff again began live trapping and

shooting burros. About 400 burros were shot

before discontinuing the practice in 1978.

Death Valley prepared an environmental impact

statement in September 1977, which included 20

options for removal of burros. The Death Valley plan

meshed with the interim management plans of the

BLM’s Bakersfield District, both of which supported

NPS policies of removal of exotic species from units

of the national park system. A cooperative agreement regarding burro management was drawn up

among the Bureau of Land Management, the

National Park Service, and China Lake Naval

Weapons Center.

The approved plan was conducted in three phases:

Phase one: Death Valley National Monument’s

capture and adoption — Remove all burros

through live trapping over a three-year period,

turning the burros over to animal protection

groups to place in adoptions, live; and to construct 35 miles of fence in Nevada to exclude

burros and cows. (In the Nevada triangle portion

of the old monument cattle were as severe a

problem as were burros).

Phase two: animal protection groups remove

stragglers over a one-year period.

Phase three: zero population — go to direct

reduction — shooting any remaining burros, to

approach a zero population.

An agreement to conduct the roundups was made

with the Bureau of Land Management and with the

animal protection groups. The agreement was

signed on July 2, 1982. The three-year roundup

began in October 1983. Phase one ended in April

1986, removing alive nearly 6,000 burros. (The

1981 census was 2,501 burros). The government’s

cost was $1.7 million. Animal protection groups

agreed to take all burros captured out for adoption,

but took only 60%.

During phase two from fall 1986 to winter of 1987,

230 burros were removed by animal protection

groups. Phase three began on July 1, 1987 and will

continue as long as necessary within the old monument boundary.

On February 28, 1995, the Superintendent of Death

Valley National Park agreed to an interim management policy for burros on lands formerly managed

by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to maintain the BLM-approved management levels until a

final decision was derived through the formal planning process. That level was 297 burros and 9 wild

horses for Death Valley National Park.

The National Park Service estimates that at least 110

burros per year from Death Valley National Park

need to be removed to reach the BLM-approved

management levels. Under this interim policy all

wild horses and burros removed will be captured

and made available for adoption to the public.

In Death Valley National Park the estimated total

wild horse and burro populations were about a

dozen horses and 575 burros (December 1997 NPS

data). The Park’s Nevada triangle boundary and its

southern boundary near Owlshead Mountains are

its only areas where there is no adjacent BLM herd

management area.

Death Valley National Park is still managing burros

within its former monument boundary under a

management strategy developed when it was a

national monument. In 1995, a volunteer burro protection group began removing burros via live capture in lieu of the Park’s removal policy. The Park has

not abandoned its existing plans for burro removal

within the old monument boundary, but has suspended its own removal plans while the volunteer

group’s efforts are underway. This group has

removed about 20–30 burros per year. This volun32
teer operation has been at minimal cost to the federal government; however, it is questionable

whether this removal level is helping to reduce the

numbers toward zero.

Since many of the herd management areas are adjacent to National Park Service (NPS) lands, this plan

will consider options, developed with Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) and National Park Service interagency cooperation for wild horse and burro management within both NPS units and BLM lands.

The National Park Service initiated an aggressive

removal program in 1999. Approximately 200 burros

were rounded up using a combination of a volunteer

group and BLM contract wranglers and helicopter.

Approximately 190 additional burros were rounded

up in 2000 by the same methods as 1999. It is estimated that about 300–350 burros remain in the Park.

Plan Actions

The National Park Service will adopt the “no burro

or wild horse” strategy that exists for the former

monument lands (NPS 1983) and will apply it to the

newly added Park lands. Wild horses and burros, if

encountered, will also be removed following the

strategy described below. This plan updates the

existing burro management component of the

Park’s Natural and Cultural Resource Management

Plan. A cooperative agreement will be developed

that assures that the Bureau of Land Management

will take steps to control herds adjacent to the Park

and will remove trespass burros and wild horses.

The Bureau of Land Management has agreed to

install boundary fences at critical points where herds

are proposed adjacent to the Park, after consultation with the Park (Tim Salt, BLM District Manager,

personal communication, 1998).

Removal of horses and burros from Park lands will

be completed through a three phase removal program. Phase one consists of a Park-wide live capture

program that will be in effect for a maximum of five

years. Capture techniques during phase one will

include three primary methods: 1) enticing burros

and wild horses into corrals with water or food, 2)

herding into corrals by using wranglers and possibly

helicopters, and 3) netting and removal of burros

with helicopters. This option will not be considered

until corralling and herding methods become ineffective and remote terrain and cost-effectiveness

become a consideration. All captured burros and

wild horses will be adopted through existing BLM

facilities or through direct or indirect adoption programs of the National Park Service, or adoption by

the efforts of a third party. This phase began in

1999, and resulted in the live capture of 204 burros

that were transferred to the Bureau of Land

Management or a private burro advocacy group.

In phase two the National Park Service will actively

solicit interested animal protection groups that will

begin removing the remaining few animals. An

agreement will be signed with the group(s) to provide up to 2 years to remove the remaining burros

and wild horses from the Park at their expense. The

National Park Service will provide oversight, and

possibly some logistics support and use of some

equipment and corrals. The duration of the phase

two approach will be determined by effectiveness of

the protection group capture efforts, i.e. if the

groups could not demonstrate that they were capturing animals at a rate that was faster than the animal’s reproductive rate, the time frame for phase

two will be shorter than two years. It is anticipated

that most of the burros and wild horses in the Park

will likely be captured and removed through phases

one and two. If no interested group is found within

six months after the completion of phase one, the

National Park Service will begin phase three.

In phase three NPS staff will eliminate the remaining

few animals in the most cost-effective and humane

manner to achieve a zero population. Removal

efforts could involve a variety of techniques including, but not limited to shooting, wrangler/helicopter

roundups, and netting-removal with helicopters.

Phase three will continue for an indefinite time.

Phase three could be suspended and phase two

reinitiated if an animal protection group comes forward to conduct capture activities and provides

clear evidence that their efforts are able to maintain

herd levels at near zero levels. The Park will work

expeditiously with groups that can demonstrate an

effective ability to capture.

Phases can be run concurrently in different parts of

the Park. For instance, the old monument lands

have been in phase three for several years. This

phase has been temporarily suspended while animal

protection groups are actively working to capture

burros there. The Park also maintains the option of

returning to phase three in the old monument lands

if live captures do not succeed in reducing the populations. As captures in the new Park lands proceed,

a particular area of the Park, such as Saline Valley,

could be placed in phase two or phase three separate from the rest of the Park.

33The Plan

 Natural Resources
The Park Service is aware of the burro’s potential for

rapid population growth (up to 20% per year). The

above proposed removal strategy will result in a burro

and wild horse population that approaches zero.

Concurrently with these control actions, when funding is made available, the National Park Service will

work with the Bureau of Land Management and the

California Department of Fish and Game on feasibility studies that involve boundary fences that are

similar to the fence that has existed around the

Nevada Triangle since 1988.

Other Nonnative Animals

Aquatics. Death Valley National Park has a number

of aquatic exotic species. Mosquito fish, goldfish,

crayfish, and bullfrogs are common in the Saline

Valley. Mosquito fish are also found at Furnace

Creek. The aquatic exotic species listed have all

been documented to result in adverse impacts to

native aquatic fauna (CDF&G 1/12/99 letter to NPS).

Wherever and whenever possible these exotics will

be controlled to a level eliminating their adverse

impacts, or they will be extirpated altogether from

Park habitats.

Chukar. The chukar (Alectoris chukar), an upland

game bird, popular among hunters, was first introduced into California (from India) in 1932 (Mallette

c. 1970). Between 1932 and 1955, over 52,000

birds were released by the California Department of

Fish and Game (Mallette c. 1970). The birds prefer

rocky open hills and flats. Sightings have been

reported from below sea level to above 12,000 feet

in the White Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Chukar

are abundant in every valley and mountain range in

Death Valley National Park.

Tamarisk

Background

The tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima), or salt cedar, an

introduced shrub or small tree, 5 to 20 feet tall, is an

opportunistic invader of moist areas. There are

many areas in the Park where this plant has choked

out native vegetation. Both the Bureau of Land

Management and the National Park Service have

ongoing control programs that are attempting to

manage this invasive plant. Continuing control is

needed to prevent this weedy tree from outcompeting and eliminating native vegetation. A larger relative, the athel (T. Aphylla), has been planted, typically as a windbreak or sand-break, in a number of

locations in the Park (e.g. near Furnace Creek,

Death Valley Junction, and Shoshone). Although not

as invasive as tamarisk, the athel is also believed to

be an invader of native habitats. Death Valley

National Park is reducing the potential for reintroduction by encouraging the use of other types of

shade trees, landscaping, and windbreak plantings

in developed areas within and outside the Park.

Plan Actions

The Park will continue to actively pursue the

removal of nonnative tamarisk. Tamarisk eradication

efforts will continue to identify areas where Tamarix

ramosissima was gaining a foothold.

Other Nonnative Plants

Russian thistle (commonly called tumbleweed) is

common in many disturbed portions of the Park,

including the Eureka Dunes area, approximately 300

acres near Harrisburg Flats at Skidoo, other old mining sites, and along roadsides.

Date and Washington palms have become established

at several backcountry springs in Death Valley National

Park. These palms may be removed if it is determined

that they are not part of the historical scene.

Introduced annual grasses, such as Bromus and

Schismus species, are serious pests when mature

(Hitchcock and Chase 1971). “The narrow, sharppointed minutely barbed florets (or fruits) with their

long rough awns work into the eyes, nostrils, and

mouths of stock, causing inflammation and offer

serious injury” (Hitchcock and Chase 1971). The

increase of these grasses throughout much of the

arid west is believed to be an important contributing factor in the increase in desert wildfires, which

used to be uncommon.

Hornwort, an aquatic annual plant with dense

growth, is being removed from Saratoga Spring

near the southeast boundary of the Park (NPS

1988).

Plan Actions

The Park will continue the limited programs to control Russian thistle and hornwort (an aquatic annual

plant at Saratoga Springs). However, as resource

monitoring efforts highlight other problems, or

research provides solutions to known problems, funding will be sought for additional eradication programs.

Disturbed Land Restoration

Background

Disturbance of the native vegetation and soils in the

Park has occurred as a result of many human activi34
ties, including mining, road building, utility lines,

dumps, grazing, burros, offroad vehicles, and fire.

No comprehensive inventory of this disturbance has

been completed to document the areas, period of

disturbance and extent of recovery.

Plan Actions

The National Park Service will seek to perpetuate

native plant life as part of natural ecosystems.

Natural landscapes and plants will be manipulated

only when necessary to achieve approved management objectives. To the maximum extent possible,

plantings in all areas will consist of species native to

the Park or historically appropriate for the period or

event commemorated. Native species will be

emphasized. The use of exotic species will conform

to the NPS exotic species policy (NPS 1988).

Landscapes and plants might be manipulated to

maintain habitat for threatened or endangered

species, but in natural areas, only native plants

could be used if additional plantings were done.

Existing plants will be manipulated in a manner

designed to restore or enhance the functioning of

the plant and animal community of which the

endangered species is a natural part.

In natural areas landscape conditions caused by natural phenomena such as landslides, earthquakes,

floods, and natural fires will not be modified unless

required for public safety, protection of NPS facilities, or necessary reconstruction of dispersed-use

facilities, such as trails. Terrain and plants could be

manipulated where necessary to restore natural

conditions on lands altered by human activity.

In cultural areas, such as at Scotty’s Castle, trees, other

plants, and landscape features will be managed to

reflect the historic landscape or the historic scene

associated with a significant historic theme or activity.

Death Valley National Park will continue rehabilitating abandoned mine sites. Rehabilitation efforts will

continue to use techniques such as netting shafts

and gating adits to eliminate safety hazards. Each

site will be individually evaluated and action taken

as appropriate to restore the area to as a natural

conditional as possible, while considering other cultural and natural values. Consideration of bats and

other wildlife, as well as cultural resources will be an

integral part of the decision process.

FIRE MANAGEMENT

Background

Although the National Park Service recognizes the

natural role of fire in ecosystem processes, the

effects of fire on components of desert ecosystems

are not well understood. The National Park Service

is assessing and documenting the state of existing

fire effects research in desert ecosystems and formulating a desert fire management strategy. Unitspecific fire management plans will be developed

consistent with this policy. Over the short term

(1–10 years) the fire management policy will be

guided by the best available scientific knowledge of

fire effects and by current NPS policy direction. A

number of changes will be implemented with

regard to agency-wide fire management policy.

The effects of fire on components of desert ecosystems, and the extent and degree of its historic role

on biota are not well understood. The National Park

Service is assessing and documenting the state of

existing fire effects research in desert ecosystems.

Over the short term (1–10 years) fire management

strategies will be developed based on the best available science, field observations of fire effects and

post-burn monitoring of selected sites. In cooperation with other desert parks, other federal and state

land managers, and the research staff in the agency

or at universities, fire-related research needs will be

identified and long-term studies initiated. Specific

research topics might include postfire successional

trends, or effective postfire rehabilitation strategies.

Plan Actions

Management options include full suppression, prescribed fire, natural fire managed to achieve benefits to natural resources, or a combination of these.

In many cases, appropriate management strategies

will be pre-determined in the planning process,

based on life and property considerations, location,

identification of natural or cultural resources at risk,

existing vegetation and fuels, terrain, and other factors. In other instances, management strategies will

be determined on an individual basis, factoring in

additional variables such as current and predicted

weather conditions, staffing levels, resource management objectives, terrain, and identified planning

parameters. Research burns might be initiated within specific prescriptions, and burn sites will be monitored to assess changes over time.

Protection of life and property is first and foremost.

All human caused wildfires will be suppressed, and

all fire management actions will be implemented

using methods, equipment and tactics which cause

the least impact to natural resources. Heavy equipment, such as bulldozers, will not be used except in

emergencies as determined by the Superintendent.

All staff will receive training on appropriate strategy,

tactics and precautions in sensitive species habitat.

35The Plan

 Natural Resources
Fire management strategies within wilderness areas

will also be determined based on the criteria discussed above. Additionally, a “minimum requirement” process will be undertaken for every fire in

wilderness to determine the “minimum tool or

administrative practice necessary to successfully and

safely accomplish the management objective with

the least adverse impact on wilderness character and

resources” (NPS Management Policies). The use of

mechanized equipment and transport (i.e. chain

saws, portable pumps, vehicles and aircraft) will

remain an exception to be exercised sparingly and

only when it meets the test of being the minimum

necessary for wilderness purposes or the protection

of life or property. Such exceptions must be

approved by the Superintendent or his/her designee.

Based on the results of fire management research,

the Park will periodically revise its “Fire

Management Plan.”

RESEARCH

Background

Research and education are core mission elements of

the NPS national goals and of the Park’s enabling legislation. Congress highlighted these issues in the

CDPA with following passages:

These desert wildlands display unique scenic,

historical, archeological, environmental, ecological, wildlife, cultural, scientific, educational

and recreational values used and enjoyed by millions of Americans for hiking and camping, scientific study and scenic appreciation. (emphasis added)

Retain and enhance opportunities for scientific

research in undisturbed ecosystems.

Plan Actions

High quality information is vital for the proper management of the Park and protection of Park

resources. The Park uses a multi-faceted process to

initiate the accumulation of scientific knowledge.

Studies may be conducted with in-house expertise

and funding, or with outside assistance (both

money and people).

Park resource information needs are defined within

the Park’s Natural and Cultural Resources

Management Plan. The Natural and Cultural

Resources Management Plan is a document that

lists Park research needs, threats to Park resources,

projects that would mitigate the threats, and a ranking of these projects. Each year these lists are submitted for national ranking and possible funding.

The Natural and Cultural Resources Management

Plan is updated as needed to maintain a current listing of issues and threats. Funding for projects may

be from the existing Park budget, receipt of funds

from system-wide competition, or outside funding

sources, such as grants.

Independent researchers often apply to the Park for

research permits. Such research is encouraged. The

information gained may have practical application

for the protection of Park resources or for visitor

enjoyment. More theoretical research may, in the

long run, yield the basic knowledge necessary to

protect Park resources. Information may be valuable

to the field of science far beyond Park boundaries.

Independent research supports the concept of

“parks as classrooms” when students learn from

the protected natural resources of the Park. The

Park functions as a natural laboratory open for

observation and scientific inquiry. The Park, through

scientific research, provides information to outside

areas about desert ecosystems, and provides the

baseline by which the uses of those areas may be

evaluated.

Research permits or scientific collection permits are

issued to researchers from universities, museums or

other agencies when their studies are consistent

with legislation, especially the NPS Organic Act of

1916, the California Desert Protection Act of 1994,

the Wilderness Act of 1964, and the National Parks

Omnibus Management Act of 1998. Some research

projects propose techniques that unacceptably

impact Park resources. Preference is given to projects which have a high benefit to Park resource protection, visitor enjoyment or science, and a low

impact on Park resources.

Congress reinforced the research objective of Death

Valley in the California Desert Protection Act, and again

in the 1998 National Parks Omnibus Management Act.

Title II of that act contains the following:

■ A mandate for research;

■ Authority to enter into cooperative agreements

with colleges and universities for the purpose of

conducting multi-disciplinary research;

■ Establishment of baseline information enabling

the monitoring of long-term trends in the condition of national park system resources.

■ An invitation for scientist to conduct approved

research within units of the national park system.

■ Measures to assure Park managers use research

results in Park management.

36
37

Scientific research is not new to the Park. The Park

will continue to procure the best science to meet its

resource protection and management requirements.

INVENTORYING AND MONITORING

Background

Inventorying and monitoring the Park’s natural

resources are necessary to gain a more complete

understanding of their value and condition.

Plan Actions

The National Park Service will develop and implement a systematic, integrated program to identify,

inventory, and monitor the Park’s natural resources.

The Park will work with academic institutions in

retaining and enhancing opportunities for scientific

research in undisturbed ecosystems such as the

Park’s wilderness areas. The Park will consult with

people with expertise in the resource or in developing and implementing an inventorying and monitoring program. A comprehensive strategy will be

developed and implemented to ensure that regional, local, or national trends are documented and

appropriate actions undertaken.

The Park’s existing Natural and Cultural Resources

Management Plan will be updated to reflect the

changes that are proposed in this General

Management Plan for Death Valley National Park.

The updated plan will present a detailed program for

managing the Park’s natural and cultural resources. 

The Plan

 Natural Resources
ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES

Historic Archeology

Historic archeological sites in the Park are largely associated with transportation corridors, water sources,

and mining and ranching operations of the late 19th

and early 20th centuries. The research and information

potential of historical archeological sites is an important aspect of their National Register eligibility.

Status of Archeological Research

Although it is estimated that only about 6 percent

of the lands within the boundaries of pre-1994

Death Valley National Monument (and an even

smaller proportion of the lands added to the monument in 1994) have been surveyed for archeological

resources, the overall cultural sequence is well documented. In particular, the archeological research

and survey efforts of Alice Hunt and William

Wallace, conducted primarily during the 1950s and

1960s, have formed the bulk of extant data about

prehistoric native cultures. Over 2,000 archeological

sites, covering some 10,000 years of human activity,

have been identified. Archeological sites include

house circles; habitation areas; complex sites; rockshelters; campsites; workshops; quarries and lithic

scatters; hunting blinds; plant food processing stations; storage pits; cemetery and burial areas; rock

art (petroglyphs/pictographs); rock alignments; and

rock traps or caches. Areas of particular archeological significance within the Park boundaries include

Butte Valley, Mesquite Flat, the floor of Death Valley,

Grapevine Canyon, high elevation localities in the

Panamint Mountains, alluvial fans on the west side

of Death Valley, and springs.

More recent archeological survey has been driven by

compliance actions and salvage operations related

to Park development plans. These efforts, although

more up-to-date in terms of professional scientific

standards, have sometimes lacked a cohesive

research design which would tie them to larger

issues of a parkwide or desert-wide nature. As a

result, past researchers have often been forced to

treat individual sites in different portions of Death

Valley as culturally distinct entities, resulting in sometimes confused cultural sequential chronologies.

At present, the National Park Service is completing a

three-year systematic, parkwide archeological survey of at-risk areas under a cooperative agreement

with the University of California, Riverside.

Landforms and Archeological

Resources

While archeological sites are found on virtually every

type of landform in the Park, the persistent association of certain features with archeological sites

allows for fairly reliable estimates about the types of

landforms that are likely to support sites. Proximity

to fresh water and food resources are the primary

variables influencing Native American site location.

For example, a spring in or near a mesquite grove

would be an optimal location for a site. An alluvial

fan generally lacks resources and would not have

been a primary occupation or food collecting and

processing site, but may have been the location of

food storage facilities or a temporary campsite, trail,

burial site, or rock art site, all of which fall outside

of the parameters of a model based solely on subsistence variables.

However, previous environmental conditions must

also be considered. Ancient late Pleistocene

Era/early Lake Mojave Period beach features associated with now-extinct lacustrine and riparian habitat were prime occupation or food collecting and

processing sites over 6,000 years ago, in spite of

what the present landscape may look like.

Euro-American sites, while generally more easily

identified than prehistoric sites, are generally associated with transportation networks and resource

procurement/exploitation features. In the Park,

transportation routes, water sources, and mining

operations are prime locations where such archeological sites may be found. The network of interconnecting roads is usually preserved and is easily

discernible from aerial photographs and early maps.

National Register of Historic Places

No prehistoric archeological sites or districts within

the Park boundaries are listed on or have been

determined eligible for listing on the National

Register of Historic Places.

Draft National Register nomination forms for archeological districts in the Park that have been prepared

include: Butte Valley, Mesquite Spring, RacetrackGoldbelt, Ubehebe Crater, Upper Emigrant, Upper

Panamint, Death Valley Salt Pan, Furnace Creek,

Mesquite Flat, Grapevine Canyon, Ibex Spring,

Keane Wonder Mine, Saratoga Springs, and Lower

Vine Ranch.

The National Park Service is planning to prepare

national register nomination forms for archeological

38

Cultural Resour Cultural Resources
districts such as Furnace Creek Wash, Saline Valley,

and Eureka Valley.

HISTORIC RESOURCES

The Park has an impressive inventory of historical

resources. The mountains and valleys contain sites

associated with early Spanish and American exploration and survey of the vast Mojave Desert region,

and the area is laced with remnants of prehistoric

and protohistoric Native American trails as well as

Euro-American trails, wagon roads, railroads, highways, and other early transportation arteries. The

region contains numerous remnants of abandoned

mining operations, sites of settlements long gone

and nearly forgotten, railroad grades and railway

structures. Fence lines, water tanks, and corrals testify to a continuing ranching-grazing industry and

scattered remains of homesteads tell of a time when

small farming operations were attempted in this arid

land. There are significant reminders of early recreational and resort development associated with the

advent of tourism to the region, as well as reminders

of early federal government administration of portions of the area, including administration, maintenance, and residential buildings constructed by the

Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps.

Timbisha Shoshone Village

The Timbisha Shoshone people have lived in and

around Death Valley since prehistoric times. During

the late 1920s and early 1930s, members of the

Tribe lived in four different locations in the Furnace

Creek area. Finally in 1936 the Bureau of Indian

Affairs and the National Park Service agreed on a

site of approximately 40 acres for a permanent residential area south of Furnace Creek Ranch. This site

became known as the Timbisha Shoshone Village.

In 1936, under NPS supervision, construction started on nine adobe residences, using materials provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Adobe was

one of the common construction materials of the

day, also used in many NPS structures.

The following year two communal facilities—laundry and a trading post—were constructed by the

Civilian Conservation Corps under NPS supervision.

Up until the 1940s, the village adobe structures

housed most of the Timbisha Shoshone families living in the Death Valley area. Some moved elsewhere

during World War II because of the lack of employment opportunities in the area of the Park. In the

1950s the National Park Service removed five adobe

structures that were perceived to be vacant or semioccupied, leaving six structures.

During the early 1980s, the remaining structures

were rehabilitated and additional housing was purchased and moved to the village. The village has

maintained a population of approximately 40–50

persons through the 1980s and the 1990s.

Beginning in the 1930s, and for many years afterwards, the Tribe was issued a permit for use of the

village site. In 1983 the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe

was granted federal recognition by the Secretary of

the Interior. No permitting procedure has been used

for many years.

Warm Springs – Saline Valley

Three natural hot springs in Saline Valley, known

collectively as the Warm Springs, have become a

popular recreational spot during the post-World

War II era. Although events surrounding the early

recreational use of the Warm Springs are somewhat

obscure, local Euro-Americans had begun visiting

and soaking in the springs by the early 1940s. By

1947, a small concrete tub had been constructed at

the Lower Warm Spring, presumably by a cattleman

or a sheepherder, to catch the runoff.

As growing numbers of people began visiting Lower

Warm Spring, the most accessible of the three

springs, to camp and soak in the warm water, the

area slowly became “trashed.” Despite the gradual

“trashing” of the Warm Springs vicinity, however,

some visitors wrote accounts describing the natural

beauty of the area. During the fall of 1964, visitors

to the Warm Springs began cleaning up the area,

and in 1965 a new and larger tub was constructed

at the Lower Warm Spring that could accommodate

as many as a dozen people for soaking.

Palm Spring, sometimes referred to as Middle Warm

Spring, is located about one-half mile above Lower

Warm Spring. Less protected from the wind and sun

than Lower Warm Spring because it is not surrounded by mesquite trees, it nevertheless became

increasingly attractive as an alternate soaking area,

partly because of the panoramic view of the surrounding valley and mountains that it provided. Like

Lower Warm Spring, Palm Spring has a source pool

of its own. People soaked in the source pool until

1968 when a group of users built a small retaining

wall around the pool, laid a buried pipe to it, and

constructed the first soaking pool.

The isolated Upper Warm Spring, located some

three miles above Palm Spring, has no man-made

soaking facilities. During the early 1980s, however,

the Bureau of Land Management constructed a

39The Plan

 Cultural Resources
fence around the spring to prevent feral burros from

having access to the water. Desert pupfish were

introduced in the springs, but they did not long survive. Thereafter, Upper Warm Spring was used as a

soaking site by those who wanted to get away from

the more popularly-used springs below.

By the late 1960s the Warm Springs had become a

mecca for “hippies” and those preferring hedonist

lifestyles characteristic of the era. Since that time,

the Warm Springs have been the focus of steadily

increasing visitation as a result of word of mouth

recommendations and listings in popular hot springs

literature. Whereas one party a week was common

during the early 1960s, visitors began to stay at the

springs for longer periods of time. Often parties of

two or more began to camp at the springs for

weeks or months, particularly during the winter season, but the greatest use of the springs came from

“regulars” who began to make short but frequent

trips to the springs. To accommodate the growing

numbers of visitors during the 1960s and 1970s, the

users constructed various improvements at Lower

Warm Spring, including several larger soaking pools,

a deck, separate pools for washing dishes, and a fish

pond. In addition, a lawn and palm trees were

planted and two airstrips were laid out nearby.

During the past two decades, “regulars” to the

Warm Springs, “consisting of an eclectic collection of

bohemians, loners, individualists, tourists, and others

who simply share a love for hot springs and a desire

to escape from the complexities of modern life,”

have developed an informal self-policing community

that maintains and cleans the springs and their vicinity. As a result of the increasing concern of springs’

users that federal land management agencies would

regulate activities at the Warm Springs, the users

have formed an organization to protect their interests

— the Saline Preservation Association (SPA).

Cultural Landscapes

Many cultural landscapes exist in the Park that are

potentially eligible for listing on the National

Register, but cultural landscape studies have not

been undertaken to identify their character-defining

elements. Landscapes reflecting mining, ranching,

ethnographic, and administrative activities can be

seen throughout the Park. Especially significant

landscapes are found at Scotty’s Castle, Lower Vine

Ranch, and the salt tram in Saline Valley, and, in

association with many of the CCC-era national

monument administration structures. Other significant cultural landscapes include the: (a) contemporary Timbisha Shoshone Village; (b) Chloride Cliff

and Keane Wonder mining sites; (c) Cow Creek

CCC maintenance yard and administrative area; (d)

Harmony Borax Works; (e) various large and small

mining sites; (f) cultivated areas and orchards connected with ranching and agricultural activities; and

(g) extensive layouts of gardens, groves, and recreational facilities related to tourist resorts.

National Register of Historic Places

Six historic period properties in Death Valley

National Park are listed on the National Register of

Historic Places:

■ Skidoo — April 16, 1974

■ Harmony Borax Works — December 31, 1974

■ Eagle Borax Works — December 31, 1974

■ Saline Valley Salt Tram Historic Structure —

December 31, 1974

■ Leadfield — June 10, 1975

■ Death Valley Scotty Historic District — July

20, 1978

Five historic properties in the Park have been determined eligible for listing on the National Register of

Historic Places:

■ Residential, Administrative, Maintenance,

and Visitor Use Facilities in Death Valley

National Monument Built by the Civilian

Conservation Corps — (Multiple Property

Nomination) — May 10, 1989: Camp

Wildrose Historic District, Cow Creek Historic

District, Emigrant Junction Comfort Station

(E-85), Park Village Comfort Station (PV-69),

Texas Spring Campground Comfort Stations

(TS-113, TS-114) and stone picnic tables

■ Original Bullfrog–Bullfrog West Extension

Mine — September 18, 1980

■ Homestake-King and Gold Bar Mines and

Mills — July 6, 1981

■ Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad Grade —

July 8, 1981

■ Lee Historic District — October 5, 1982

Seventeen draft national register nomination forms

have been prepared for the following properties in

the Park in connection with the aforementioned

Historic Resource Study: A History of Mining. The

forms have been submitted to the NPS Pacific-Great

Basin Support Office, but no formal determinations

of eligibility have been processed for them:

■ Big Talc Mine

■ Garibaldi Mine

■ Gold Hill Mill

■ Harrisburg Historic District

40
■ Hungry Bill’s Ranch Historic District

■ Journigan’s Mill

■ Lemoigne Mine and Cabin

■ Lost Burro Mine and Mill

■ Panamint Treasure Mine

■ Queen of Sheba Mine

■ Wildrose Canyon Charcoal Kilns

■ Chloride Cliff Historic District

■ Echo Canyon Historic District

■ Greenwater Historic District

■ Keane Wonder Historic District

■ Corduroy Road

■ Furnace Creek Wash Historic District

Three draft national register nomination forms have

been prepared for the following historic properties

in the lands that were added to the national monument in 1994:

■ Barker Ranch

■ Panamint City

■ Gem Mine and Mill

Four draft national register nomination forms were

prepared by the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe through a

NPS Historic Preservation Grant:

■ Mushroom Rock

■ Ubehebe Crater

■ Navel Spring

■ “Tumpisa” District (Furnace Creek area)

MUSEUM COLLECTION

Park staff are responsible for monitoring, documenting, and preserving a large, diverse museum

collection that includes more than 177,000 cataloged objects and specimens, some stored in substandard conditions. An additional 23,000 archeological artifacts and records are at the NPS Western

Archeological Center in Tucson, Arizona. Museum

collections include historical objects and archival

documents, archeological artifacts, ethnological

materials, biological specimens, geological samples,

and paleontological materials. Numbers of currently

cataloged objects in the various disciplines range

from an estimated 78,900 historical objects to

approximately 280 ethnological items. There are

potentially 1,600 objects associated with the Native

American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of

1990. Many of these objects may be returned to the

Tribe as a result of this act.

In 2000, the National Park Service opened a new

state-of-the-art curatorial facility at Cow Creek. The

museum collection constitutes an important part of

the overall resources offered by the Park. In historic

districts, the collection constitutes a primary

resource that visitors view. A relatively large number

of historic objects are on display in the national register−listed Death Valley Scotty Historic District.

Diverse material types are exhibited in the historic

house museum as well as on the grounds.

Plan Actions

The National Park Service will develop and implement a systematic, integrated program to identify,

inventory, monitor, evaluate, and nominate archeological sites, historic properties, cultural landscapes,

and ethnographic resources to the national register

and will manage, protect, and preserve such listed

properties in a way that will preserve their documented archeological, architectural, ethnographic,

historic, or research values. A collection management program will be further implemented to: (1)

improve storage conditions to meet standards for all

Park collections stored; (2) provide a more comprehensive preventive conservation program; (3)

acquire museum objects/ specimens, including

appropriate replacement furnishings for highly

impacted objects targeted for exhibit; and (4)

improve collection access and use, as appropriate.

The collections management program will include

cataloging the significant backlog of objects and

collections at the Park and correcting the deficiencies identified in the “Checklist for Preservation and

Protection of Museum Collections.”

The National Park Service will develop and implement

a systematic applied cultural resource research program to ensure that (1) there will be adequate baseline information on location, condition, threats, and

41The Plan

 Cultural Resources
42

significance/ integrity of resources; (2) interpretation

and preservation treatment of resources will be accurate; and (3) appropriate means will be used to manage, protect, preserve, and interpret Native American

heritage or other ethnographic resources. The

research program will include the following studies:

■ archeological studies, including a regionally

based archeological research plan, an updated archeological overview and assessment,

and completion of archeological identification and evaluation studies

■ ethnographic studies, including a cultural

sites inventory

■ historical studies, including a cultural landscape inventory and cultural landscape

report, historic structure reports, an administrative history, and an updated list of classified structures

■ an updated scope of collections statement

and collection management plan

The Park’s resource management plan will address

the requirements, projects, and funding to implement the cultural resource program. To support this

program, the National Park Service will develop collaborative partnerships with government agencies,

tribes, and public and private organizations that

have cultural resource management or research

capabilities or expertise. These entities could include

federal, state, and county agencies, academic institutions, local and regional cultural and historical

organizations, and the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe or

other Native American tribes having affiliation with

lands in the national park. To achieve cultural

resource program objectives, under the authority of

36 CFR 1.5, the National Park Service might control

or limit human activities in areas designated as culturally sensitive or threatened. 
Background

For millennia, American Indian peoples lived within

the Death Valley area, using the resources and lands

to sustain their lives and cultures. In the

l950–1960s, Federal Indian Lands Claims cases

involving Chemehuevi, Mojave, and Owens Valley

Paiute tribes included documented occupation and

use of many mountain ranges, valleys, and

resources in the region. Today’s tribal governments

and communities historically associated with the

study area are as follows:

■ Lone Pine, Fort Independence, Big Pine, and

Bishop Indian Reservations were originally

established by presidential executive order in

1912. These Owens Valley reservations were

altered by land exchanges in the late l930s for

residential purposes for Owens Valley Paiute

populations. Each reservation is several hundred

acres but cannot support development of tribal

enterprises. Wage work, some small-scale

ranching and gardening, and some crafts provide income to tribal members. Each community is from 250 to 400 enrolled persons, including

intermarried Shoshone and other individuals.

■ Timbisha Shoshone tribal peoples include those

known as Coso, Panamint and Death Valley

Shoshone who ranged within a large area

including most of Death Valley National Park

and nearby Bureau of Land Management lands

north of Ridgecrest, CA, and along the

Nevada–California state line. The Timbisha

Shoshone Tribe was federally recognized in

1983 and has approximately 300 enrolled

members.

■ The Las Vegas Piute Tribe is composed of

“Nuwuvi” people, called Paiute by others, who

inhabited present-day southern Nevada from

pre-European time to present. In 1911 a small

parcel of trust land was established near the

town of Las Vegas. Today, the Tribe owns the

original 16-acre area and a 3,800-acre area

north of metropolitan Las Vegas. The Tribe

numbers about 100 people who gain their economic support from tribal tourism enterprises,

retail sales, and wage work.

■ The Pahrump Paiute Colony is a nonfederally recognized community of Paiute families in the

Pahrump, Nevada area. This organization has

served the social and political purposes of the people for more than two decades. It has an informal

council leadership and operates on traditional

principles of consensus. Population is unknown.

Plan Actions

For thousands of years, the Timbisha Shoshone

Tribe has lived in and around the area that is now

Death Valley National Park. For many years, the

Tribe sought to obtain trust land within its aboriginal homeland. In 1994, Congress enacted the

California Desert Protection Act, P.L. 103- 433,

including Section 705(b) which begins to address

the need of the Tribe for a recognized land base.

Section 705(b) directs the Secretary of the Interior to

conduct a study to identify lands suitable for a reservation for the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe which has

no land base at present.

The draft report, “The Timbisha Shoshone Tribal

Homeland (1999),” contains the recommendations

of the joint Federal-Tribal negotiating team responsible for carrying out the suitability study. The study

was conducted on a government-to-government

basis with officially designated representatives of the

Timbisha Shoshone Tribe and the Department of the

Interior. It resulted in a comprehensive integrated

plan to establish a permanent Homeland for the

Tribe based on an analysis of the suitability of various

lands within the tribal ancestral homeland in relation

to basic tribal needs and consistency with Federal

land management and stewardship mandates.

Among the factors restricting the ability of the negotiating team to identify a single contiguous area suitable for the establishment of a reservation were: natural limitations, including climate, geology, and the

availability of water; mining claims; special resource

designations such as Wilderness and Area of Critical

Environmental Concern; and the availability of infrastructure such as roads, power, and other services.

This draft report concludes that the transfer of several separate parcels of land is needed and recommends transfer of 7,500 acres in trust to the

43The Plan

 Native American Interests

Native American Inter Native American Interests
44

Timbisha Shoshone Tribe. These parcels include 314

acres at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park

encompassing the present Timbisha Village Site subject to jointly developed land use restrictions

designed to ensure compatibility and consistency

with tribal and Park values, needs and purposes.

Based on the proposed land use restrictions and

opportunities for future close collaboration with the

Tribe, the National Park Service and the Tribe believe

that the transference of Park land described above

will enhance the cultural and historical interpretative

opportunities available to the visiting public, but will

not adversely impact Death Valley National Park.

The report also seeks authorization to purchase two

parcels of approximately 120 acres of former Indian

allotted lands in the Saline Valley, California, at the

edge of the Park, and the 2,430 acre Lida Ranch

near Lida, Nevada from private owners.

This report also recommends a number of other

arrangements authorizing tribal access to and traditional uses of, certain designated areas which will

remain in public ownership. One example of the latter type of arrangement is the recommendation to

seek designation of an area primarily in the western

part of Death Valley National Park as the Timbisha

Shoshone Natural and Cultural Preservation Area

within which low impact, environmentally sustainable, tribal traditional uses, activities and practices

will be authorized subject to existing law and a

jointly established management plan agreed upon

by the Tribe, the National Park Service and the

Bureau of Land Management. The Tribe, the

National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land

Management see such a designation as a way of

recognizing the common interests of the agencies

and the Tribe in conserving and protecting this area.

Examples of traditional tribal uses, practices and

activities include seasonal camping, gathering pinyon nuts and other plants for medicinal purposes,

but not the taking of wildlife within the Park.

The legislation affirms that the continued presence

of the Tribe in the Park and in other parts of its

ancestral homeland benefits the Park, the Tribe, and

the American people. In October 2000, the

President signed legislation (P.L. 106-423) implementing the recommendations of the report.

The potential impacts of the land transfer are analyzed in the Final Legislative Environmental Impact

Statement, Timbisha Shoshone Homeland (2000). Any

development or resource use activities will be part of

future planning efforts and will be subject to appropriate National Environmental Policy Act compliance

and public review. 
Death Valley National Park has long provided recreational opportunities for people from all over the

world. Its nearness to major population centers such

as Los Angeles and Las Vegas, combined with major

interstate highways, gives residents the opportunity

for relatively easy access to many parts of the

desert. Most of the landscape is open, with broad

vistas of relatively undeveloped land. The vastness

of the landscape offers visitors an opportunity for

seclusion and a sense of wilderness, even while in a

vehicle. Early miners and ranchers developed roads

that today offer visitors a chance to drive into many

remote locations where informal camping has traditionally occurred. The many roadless areas offer hikers the experience to explore. There are many cultural sites such as abandoned mining districts that

many people love to visit. The mountain ranges,

such as the Panamint and others offer a contrast to

the dry hot valleys, attracting many people in the

summers with cooler temperatures and forested

areas. Exposed geology and unique wildlife and vegetation are other elements that attract people. The

land has many extremes and contrasts which people

come to experience, such the high summer temperatures. Most visitors come to the desert simply to see

the outstanding scenery of this diverse landscape.

CARRYING CAPACITY

Park managers are often faced with decisions about

how much use of a particular area is appropriate,

given the need to protect resources. Decisions

regarding buildings, such as museums and historic

structures, are usually dictated by law and the physical capacity of the space to contain people. Visitors

face these limits everywhere they go and they are

widely accepted. Similar decisions regarding natural

spaces are not as easily derived, nor readily accepted. Most people understand that there is a need to

limit the number of people that can float the

Colorado River at the same time, in order to preserve the experience. However, determining how

many people can use a particular area of the Park

without impacting resources or other visitors experience is often more difficult.

A widely accepted definition of carrying capacity is:

“the character of use that can be supported over

a specific time by an area developed at a certain

level without causing excessive damage to either

the physical environment or the experience of

the visitor.”

There are three principle components that relate to

determining the carrying capacity for a national park:

The ecological or physical capabilities of the natural

and cultural resources to sustain certain levels of visitor use without reaching unacceptable levels of

damage. Each landscape may have varying abilities

to absorb different kinds of and levels of visitor use

before unacceptable levels of impact occur.

The sociological carrying capacity is the ability of visitors to enjoy and appreciate these resources without interference by other visitors. Determining social

carrying capacity can be one of the most difficult

parts of the three components. Identifying numbers

relating to visitation in an area is not a valid determinant of a quality visitor experience. Other factors

such as visitor behavior, preconceived expectations,

and social norms of the dominant user group can

also effect visitor enjoyment.

The type and amount of NPS management that has

been, or can be applied to the activity to mitigate

unwanted impacts is also a factor. The third component relates to the management of park roads,

parking lots, buildings, trails, and visitor information. For example, providing interpretive services is

an effective way to instill in the visitor an understanding and appreciation for park resources. Such

understanding helps implement carrying capacity

for a particular area. Limiting parking in certain

areas can effectively limit visitation.

The implementation of recommendations as called

for in this plan will increase the level of protection

for fragile or sensitive resources. Until future implementation plans are developed, the National Park

Service should manage visitor activities in a way that

leans toward resource protection. Preservation of

sensitive species and their habitats is a priority and

45The Plan

 Visitor Use, Services, and Facilities

Visitor Use, Services, and Facilities isitor Use, Services, and Facilities
sensitive population resource degradation due to

public use or other activities would not be allowed.

Aggressive and appropriate action will be taken to

protect these habitats until the degraded habitat

has been restored and appropriate long term protection for the species has been put in place.

General management plans provide NPS managers

with management direction on a broad, prescriptive

level. Management objectives for carrying capacity

are thus written as narrative statements. These

statements define the desired future visitor experience and resource conditions in qualitative terms

such as “sense of seclusion,” or “low degree of tolerance for resource degradation.” The qualitative

descriptors that have been identified as “desired visitor experience and resource conditions” will be

refined and translated into quantitative standards

during future implementation planning. As previously mentioned, indicators and standards of quality for both the physical and social environments will

be developed within future implementation plans.

These products will be quantifiable and measurable

aspects of the carrying capacity process.

DESIRED FUTURE CONDITIONS

Desired future conditions for natural and cultural

resources and the visitor experiences are described

below. The descriptions are qualitative in nature and

can be translated into quantitative standards over

time during the implementation of this plan. Some

descriptions could be applied to broad areas such as

wilderness, while others apply to smaller areas such

as road corridors and points of development. These

descriptions serve as guides for managing the land

and facilities to achieve desired carrying capacities.

Natural Areas

An informal, self-guiding learning experience is provided for visitors in these areas. People are encouraged to get out of their vehicles and walk to features. The pace is slower with low to moderate levels of noise. Visitors typically focus on specific

resources with few visual intrusions. Visitors experience a sense of learning through onsite interpretation or other means.

The length of stay at each site is relatively short in

comparison to the time the visitor spends in the

Park. There is a moderate amount of social crowding and moderate social interaction at points of

interest and along dead-end trails. Guided ranger

walks are occasionally provided for visitors at some

locations. Development is limited to items such as

low interpretive panels, small directional signs, and

hardened dirt paths. Fences and boardwalks are

used as a last resort to protect resources if other

management efforts do not work. The tolerance for

resource degradation is low to moderate, depending upon the sensitivity of the resource to impacts

by use. The degree of onsite visitor and resource

management is moderate and increases or decreases with visitation levels.

Sensitive Resources and Habitat Types

The Park management will continue to protect,

restore and enhance all habitat areas, especially

those that are identified as sensitive or critical, per

law and NPS policies. The level of detail regarding

the biological function of habitat types and definition of desired future conditions will be developed

within the framework of a parkwide resource management planning effort.

Wilderness

Visitors in this landscape experience a primeval environment largely untrammeled by humans, where

the land retains its primeval character and influence,

without permanent improvements or human habitation, but may contain features of scientific, educational, scenic or historic value. Elements of modern human occupation are not appropriate unless

they meet the criteria of the Wilderness Act. Some

sections of wilderness within the Park may have

remnants of human occupation, but these features

are considered a part of the history and scenery to

be explored. A high degree of physical exertion may

be required to hike or ride horseback to this area. A

minimal amount of hiking trails may be present,

often requiring a person to travel cross-country to

get to a desired destination. Abandoned roads may

be used as routes of travel. Opportunities for independence, closeness to nature, tranquility, and the

application of outdoor skills are high. Opportunities

for social interaction with other visitors are low, as is

the probability of encountering NPS employees.

Likewise, evidence of other visitor impacts is minimal.

The landscape offers a high degree of challenge and

adventure for visitors. The visual quality of the landscape contributes significantly to the visitor experience and needs to be protected. The tolerance for

resource degradation is low, with the exception of

designated trail corridors, where a slightly higher

level of degradation is allowed within a few feet of

the trail and at points where camping occurs. A

minimal amount of resource and visitor management is present. Offsite visitor management (provision of information) is low to moderate.

46
Historic Preservation Areas

Historic preservation areas offer visitors a chance to

gain a sense of the past without compromising the

integrity of the resource. Often there are opportunities to learn by vicariously experiencing the emotions and thoughts of those who lived in the past.

The experience is often a visual one, enhanced by

smells, sounds, and a sense of physical space.

Interpretive information adds color and meaning to

the experience.

The degree of tolerance for resource degradation is

low for historic resources. The chance of seeing

other visitors and having social interaction is potentially high, depending on the degree of public

access and visitor interest. The opportunity for contact with NPS personnel is high where ranger-led

tours are offered. Visitor behavior is managed to

protect the character of each place. NPS onsite management is high at sites with high visitation and

impact sensitivity. Paved walks, fences, and interpretive panels are used as needed to accommodate

public access and interest. If interest is high,

improvements may be needed to allow visitors to

experience these resources while protecting them

from visitor use impacts. Improvements must not distract from the significance of each location. Some

features are convenient and easily accessible with little need for visitors to exert themselves, apply outdoor skills, or make a long time commitment to see

the area. Some features are located at remote locations and require more effort and skill to experience.

Adventure is often a part of the visitor experience at

these places. The way in which people currently gain

access to these locations remains unchanged since

this experience contributes to resource protection

and its appreciation. Changes in access should only

be made if there is strong justification to do so.

Remote locations should provide a primitive setting

with opportunities for solitude, exploration, and

learning, with minimal amounts of human intervention such as signs or interpretive panels.

Visitor Facilities

The visitor experience in these areas is heavily influenced by structures and other fabricated features,

and they are part of the visitor experience. The pace

is varied with opportunities to walk and drive. The

site often is noisy with vehicles and people nearby.

Visitors have opportunities to learn about Park

resources and receive many services from facilities.

Visual distractions from other visitors and their vehicles are common and expected. Buildings and other

facilities are predominant, but where exceptional

natural elements or cultural elements are present,

they should be made part of the visitor experience.

These constructed features are coordinated by

design to reduce visual contrast with the natural or

cultural setting. Although these are developed

areas, they should still offer a contrast from urban

life and a chance to relax and enjoy the outdoors.

Most facilities are convenient and easily accessible

by the public. Many areas provide a strong opportunity for social interaction. Encounters with NPS

staff are frequent. The tolerance for social crowding

is high but there are opportunities to learn and

experience a change in pace from city life. Most

facilities are accessible to visitors with disabilities.

Resource impacts at visitor facilities are as low as

possible and occur only when there is no practicable

alternative. Visitors and facilities are intensively

managed for resource protection, visitor management, and safety (that is, there may be fences, law

enforcement may be more intensive, and visitor

activities may be monitored or restricted).

Paved and Graded Roads

Paved and graded roads are the dominant experience for most Park visitors. Visitors use these narrow

corridors and roadside pullouts for touring, enjoying

scenic overlooks, and gaining access to natural and

cultural features. While traveling, visitors may read

about and understand the features they are seeing.

Bicycle travel is allowed, but motorized vehicles are

more common. Viewing the scenery is very important, but the views are often of distant landscapes.

Vistas are protected. First-time visitors may have a

sense of exploration, but very little physical exertion

is needed, outdoor skills are not necessary. Visitors

may spend a long time in this zone. The probability

of encountering other visitors is very high, although

chances for social interaction are low except at roadside pullouts. The opportunity for direct contact with

NPS staff is low unless emergency situations arise.

A moderate to high level of NPS management

(highway signs, visitor protection) is needed to provide visitors with a safe and enjoyable experience.

Because maintenance work and driving off roads

cause dirt roads to grow wider, it is necessary to

specify maximum road widths and approved pullouts. Roads are limited to specified widths unless

where strong justification exists. Resources can be

modified for essential visitors and administrative

operational needs. The tolerance for resource

degradation in these corridors is moderate.

Allowable impacts are restricted to a short distance

from roads and pullouts.

47The Plan

 Visitor Use, Services, and Facilities
Unmaintained Dirt and Four-Wheel Drive Roads

Unmaintained dirt roads provide a unique experience

for drivers and other users such as mountain bike riders, equestrians, and hikers. The predominant use is

by visitors in vehicles driving to enjoy the scenery, or

to go to historic mining sites, or to a specific feature.

Some visitors experience a strong sense of exploration, challenge, and adventure. Travel speeds are

slow to moderate, with the potential of frequent

stops. Many of these roads give visitors a sense of

escape from urban life. The areas through which

these roads pass are predominantly natural, but there

is some evidence of people having used the area in

the past and present. Increased impacts from human

use are prevented to protect the existing qualities of

the landscape. Support features such as small directional signs or interpretive panels are present but

infrequently seen and inconspicuous in character.

Visitors may need to extend themselves, use outdoor

skills, and make a long time commitment. Some

roads within the Park have rough conditions that

often require specific driving skills and more time to

complete the route. Opportunities for challenge and

adventure are available on some 2-wheel drive

roads that require high clearance vehicles.

Opportunities for social interaction are low, unless

people are traveling in a group. A moderate level of

management is provided on heavily used roads to

protect resources and visitors. Many people who use

these roads do not wish to see many other vehicles.

Resource modification is evident, but where possible,

should harmonize with the natural environment. The

Park’s tolerance for resource degradation in this zone

is low except that limited signs, road surfaces and

shoulders, pullouts, and camping areas are permitted. It is recognized that some 4-wheel drive roads

have a number of short sections that have been

widened by natural occurrences such as washouts.

INTERPRETATION

Background

An “Interpretive Prospectus” (NPS 1990) was completed for Death Valley National Monument in

1990. The prospectus identified interpretive planning and development details appropriate for the

monument. The expansion of Death Valley and the

designation of large tracts of wilderness have made

this plan obsolete.

Plan Actions

The Park interpretive program will integrate in a balanced fashion the geological, cultural, and biological

aspects of the Park. Through its primary interpretive

themes, programs and interpretive information will

concentrate on the harsh environment and the adaptations that all living things must make to survive. The

three key subjects to be interpreted will include:

■ geological processes and geographical relationships

■ the cultural, historical, prehistoric, and Native

American record

■ desert ecosystems

The Park staff will continue to seek ways to improve

the educational outreach program in surrounding

communities and develop partnerships with local

schools and similar groups. The intent of this program is to increase local community awareness of

the Park purpose and resources, and continue to

develop favorable partnerships and mutual support.

A comprehensive interpretive plan will be developed

to replace the 1990 interpretive prospectus. This plan

will reflect the additional Park lands, present individual site plans, and identify other appropriate support

documents. It will also address the interpretive needs

of Scotty’s Castle and its related resources and will

identify additional opportunities for visitors to learn

more about the castle and its builders. Until the new

comprehensive interpretive plan is developed for the

entire Park, the current prospectus will direct the

methods for interpreting the Park’s varied resources.

Cultural resource sites that are easily accessible and

historically important will be treated as significant

interpretive stops. Access to other cultural resources

will be improved only if the historical significance or

resource integrity of a site made it worthy of a major

interpretive effort and if its integrity is not threatened by an increase in visitation. The Park will

increase efforts to inform the public, particularly in

backcountry locations, that all historical and archeological objects are protected under federal law.

The Park will continue to seek additional ways to

improve the living history program or other methods

of interpreting Scotty’s Castle.

The interpretation of prehistoric and contemporary

Native American cultures will be integrated into

parkwide interpretive themes, focusing on human

adaptation to the desert environment. Programs,

demonstrations, and guided walks will provide

opportunities for visitors to understand these cultures. Tribal consultation will take place when planning interpretive opportunities pertaining to indigenous peoples.

48
To ensure the protection of especially fragile natural

and cultural values, resource management specialists, interpretive planners, and designers will work

together to develop ways for visitors to see the

resources without causing unacceptable damage.

The Salt Creek boardwalk is an example of this

cooperative effort.

Many sites may contain fragile resources and safety

hazards that must be considered when planning for

access and interpretation. Measures will also be

taken to mitigate any potential effects of increased

visitor use. Wayside exhibits or brochures will be

used to interpret these areas.

INFORMATION/ORIENTATION

Visitor Contact

Information and interpretive programs will focus on

helping people learn about and enjoy the natural

and cultural resources of the Park and giving them

the opportunity to experience the intangible qualities that make the area unique — the quiet and isolation, the depth of colors, and the clear sky.

Interpretative materials will reflect the different

ecosystems represented in the Park’s boundaries

and will be developed at a level appropriate to a

recognized need and location.

Providing interpretation and orientation information

to visitors before they enter the Park will be emphasized. Visitors could also contact the Park by telephone, mail, internet, satellite information centers,

and other means. The Park will continue to support

the multiagency information center at Lone Pine,

California, which serves visitors accessing Death

Valley from the Owens Valley to the west, and the

Mojave National Preserve’s facility in Baker,

California, which assists visitors approaching the

Park from the I-15 corridor to the south. These

points will provide additional locations for visitors to

obtain orientation and interpretation information

for the Park and the region prior to their arrival. The

objective of supporting these offsite facilities will be

to better prepare visitors for their visit to the Park.

Interpretive services will be provided wherever NPS

staff could effectively connect with the public to

increase their understanding and appreciation of

Park resources. Staffed information/fee collection

stations will continue to be located in Beatty,

Nevada, and at Stovepipe Wells. Additional interpretive staffing and services will be placed at

Stovepipe Wells to provide better year-round information to visitors.

Ranger stations at Grapevine, Wildrose, and

Shoshone will also provide visitors with information

and operate with volunteer staff as available. If visitation increases at these facilities, funding will be

sought to increase NPS staff presence at these facilities to meet visitor demand for assistance.

Unstaffed orientation and information stations

(“reception centers”) will be developed within the

Park along the Park’s five major entrance roads that

receive relatively high levels of traffic. These information stations will be proximal to fee collection

stations, where applicable, so that visitors could

receive additional information after paying entrance

fees. Unstaffed information stations will function to

help orient and inform visitors soon after they have

crossed the Park boundary, rather than waiting to

get information at the more distant developed areas

in the Park interior.

Operations at Furnace Creek and Scotty’s Castle will

continue to provide visitor services such as a staffed

visitor information desk, interpretive displays and

exhibits, a large auditorium, and sales outlet of the

Death Valley Natural History Association. Information

on hiking, backcountry historical sites, and other day

use activities will be made available at the visitor centers and the reception centers. The number of staffed

interpretive programs will be expanded.

The Park will continue to maintain and enhance

information on Death Valley via the National Park

Service website (www.nps.gov/deva), and will continue to explore new opportunities for information

distribution as technology develops. Death Valley is

also a partner in a project to provide interagency

desert-wide visitor information on the internet at a

single site: (www.californiadesert.gov).

Visitor support services, such as site bulletins and

information/interpretation wayside exhibits will be

developed to complement the expanded Park

boundaries. Wherever wayside exhibits are inappropriate and interpretation of resources is desired,

brochures, or similar media, will be developed for

specific themes or specific areas. They will be provided or offered for sale in appropriate locations.

Over 95% of the Park is designated wilderness and

large portions of the Park are only accessible by

four-wheel-drive vehicle, bicycle, or on foot. Visitors

will explore these areas on their own. In these areas,

onsite information/interpretive services will be minimal to non-existent and be restricted to threshold

access points with few exceptions.

49The Plan

 Visitor Use, Services, and Facilities
Waysides and Exhibits

Signs or exhibits will be posted at key road intersections leading to significant features. Distances, road

conditions, and destinations or features along the

way will be listed. This information will also help

prevent people from mistakenly trying a road

beyond their automobile’s capability or their personal time limits. The Park will evaluate the need for

trailhead information waysides that could serve visitors using trails. Design standards for these signs

will be established in a Park sign plan.

Basic orientation information will also be made

available on a 24-hour basis by using a variety of

methods such as lighted exhibits, brochure dispensers, audio, permanent and portable information. Information and interpretive material would be

available in other languages to meet the increasing

demand. The use of international symbols and

graphics will be used as much as possible to avoid

multiple languages on displays.

The Park has many secondary entrances that receive

moderate to light amounts of highway traffic. These

points will be evaluated for the need to place information panels that will serve the same basic function

as the information stations, but on a smaller scale.

Each location will be evaluated to determine the

appropriate information needed at each entrance.

Interpretive wayside exhibits within the Park will continue to be upgraded in accordance with a wayside

exhibit plan. Additional wayside exhibits will be

developed for key features along heavily traveled

corridors in recently acquired lands and elsewhere in

the Park if the need to interpret and or protect

resources arises. Interpretive waysides will be kept to

a minimal level (or number) on backcountry roads.

Partnerships

The National Park Service will continue to cooperate

with other agencies and organizations to make

information available along approach routes to the

Park. Locations for displays and/or free publications

outside of the Park will be considered to provide

ways to serve people who want advanced information on the Park. Partnerships with communities,

businesses and tourism associations may need to be

developed to achieve this objective.

The Park will enter into partnerships with other land

management units to provide the public with a variety of information on outdoor recreational opportunities within the region.

Partnerships will also be sought to fund various projects or projects within all management divisions in

the Park.

VISITOR FACILITIES

Background

The Park has visitor centers at Furnace Creek and

Scotty’s Castle. The largest complex, centrally located

at Furnace Creek, includes a staffed visitor information desk, interpretive displays on the natural and cultural features of the Park, a large auditorium featuring both orientation film and slide programs, and a

sales outlet of the Death Valley Natural History

Association. This facility, completed in 1960, was

planned when annual visitation was 250,000. Its

interpretive mediums are dated and focus on the

monument lands. The 49ers association has provided

assistance to the development of the visitor center.

Scotty’s Castle visitor center is located in one of the

historic structures north of the castle. New displays,

which will depict the history of the people, construction of the buildings, acquisition by the

National Park Service, and the significance of the

complex are now in place. The visitor center contains a sales outlet, and during the summer season,

it serves as a general information and ticket sales

counter. The guided tour of the castle involves

employees dressed in period costumes that tell the

story of how the castle came to be and of the individuals who lived there.

Staffed information / fee collection stations in Beatty

and at Stovepipe Wells operate on a full schedule seven

days a week year-round. Ranger stations at Grapevine,

Wildrose, and Shoshone provide visitors with information and operate with available volunteers.

The Park supports a multiagency information center

at Lone Pine serving visitors accessing Death Valley

from the Owens Valley to the west. Mojave National

Preserve’s Baker facility assists visitors approaching

the Park from the I-15 corridor to the south. These

facilities provide information, orientation, and interpretation for the Park and the region.

Plan Actions

All improvements to visitor facilities will be subject

to federal requirements to meet accessibility standards for people with disabilities. The Park staff will

also consider creative ways to increase the recreational opportunities for visitors with disabilities.

50
Entrance/Information Facilities

Care will be taken to visually blend these entrance /

information stations with their surroundings.

Entrance stations are planned for State Highway

190 on the east and west sides of the Park. This will

improve visitor information as well as increasing fee

revenues. The existing Grapevine Ranger Station will

continue as an information station that is staffed as

staff and funding allows.

Interpretive Facilities

The Park will continue to operate major visitor centers at Furnace Creek and Scotty’s Castle. The

largest visitor services complex is centrally located at

Furnace Creek and includes a staffed visitor information desk, interpretive displays, a large auditorium, and the Death Valley Natural History

Association sales outlet. This facility was completed

in 1960 and designed when annual visitation was

250,000. In 1999, visitation was about 1.2 million.

Its interpretive media is dated and focuses on the

old monument lands. Actions will be taken to

update this facility and improve interpretive displays

and to expand the number of displays to include

information on recently acquired lands. A comprehensive design plan will be prepared to update and

improve the Furnace Creek visitor center.

Other structures at Scotty’s Castle might be opened

for public tours or adapted for other uses if these

actions are compatible with recommendations from

the historic resource study/historic structure report

and the goals of restoring the resource’s cultural

landscape. Such uses might include exhibit space,

audiovisual presentations, or curatorial space. The

Park will prepare a study to consider ways to reduce

long waits for tours and parking on busy holiday

weekends at the Castle. Options might include a

reservation system.

Comprehensive design packages for visitor facilities

will strive to balance resource protection with visitor

access and safety, minimize impacts on sensitive

resources, and improve the visual quality of the

areas and overall visitor experience. Measures will

be taken to mitigate any potential effects of

increased visitor use. Locations for such improvements include key attractions such as Badwater or

especially sensitive natural and/or cultural resources

such as Eureka Dunes and Devils Hole.

Developed Campgrounds

Background

Death Valley National Park has nine developed

campgrounds that offer a variety of camping experiences. Most campground use occurs primarily

from November through April because of the cooler temperatures. Most visitor use is concentrated at

Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells. The Sunset

campground at Furnace Creek consists of an expansive open area, which is used by recreational vehicles and trailers. Many people stay overnight in

recreational vehicles, but the number of such users

appears to be declining. The Park recorded 231,902

overnight stays by recreational vehicles in 1979

compared to 165,253 in 1995, a 28% decrease in

RV users. Campgrounds at Furnace Creek and the

group site at Texas Springs are on a campsite reservation system. Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells,

Sunset and Texas Springs campgrounds are wheel

chair accessible. Mahogany Flat, Thorndike, and

Wildrose, on the west side of the Panamint mountain

range (4,100–8,200 feet elevation), are subject to

seasonal closures due to snow and other weather.

Death Valley has over 600 developed campsites. The

following is a list of the campgrounds and their

campsite numbers:

■ Emigrant — 10 sites

■ Furnace Creek — 136 sites

■ Mahogany Flat — 10 sites

■ Mesquite Spring — 30 sites

■ Stovepipe Wells — 200 sites

■ Sunset — 1000 sites

■ Texas Spring — 92 sites

■ Thorndike — 10 sites

■ Wildrose — 30 sites

In 1997 five campgrounds charged a fee, either

$16.00 or $10.00. Emigrant, Mahogany Flat,

Thorndike, and Wildrose campgrounds do not

charge fees.

The entrance fee to the Park in 1997 was $10.00.

Fees are collected at the Grapevine entrance station,

Beatty ranger station, Stovepipe Wells ranger station, Furnace Creek visitor center, and Baker visitor

center. This is paid on a voluntary basis at all locations except the entrance station. Since there are no

entrance stations on State Highways 190 or 178, it

is not known how many people traveling these

roads actually pay the entrance fee.

Plan Actions

The Park’s existing campgrounds will be improved

by eliminating safety hazards, better defining and

separating sites, improving restrooms, and adding

amenities such as newer picnic tables. Camping

facilities at higher elevations will be upgraded to

51The Plan

 Visitor Use, Services, and Facilities
enhance summer camping activities. All recreational

vehicles (RV) campgrounds will be designed to meet

national fire codes, which require 900 square feet

per RV site and allow a maximum of 30 recreational

vehicles per acre. The Park staff will work to identify

issues and concerns related with tent camping and

find ways to accommodate all types of campers,

including tents, in developed campgrounds, while

striving to enhance the visitor experience.

The existing campground at Stovepipe campground

will be redesigned.

The Sunset, Texas Spring, and Furnace Creek campgrounds will be extensively redesigned to accommodate average winter demand and improve camping

conditions. The total number of campsites at Sunset

will be reduced because the campground is rarely

used to capacity. Demands for additional camping

areas, such as during the ‘49er Encampment and

spring holidays, will be handled at designated overflow areas, which will be closed at other times. The

Furnace Creek area development concept plan will

incorporate these changes.

RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Background

Most visitation to Death Valley National Park has historically occurred during the cooler months of fall,

winter and spring, but recent visitation figures indicate that visitation during the summer months has

increased significantly to the point that Park staff no

longer consider summer the slow part of the year.

The months with the highest visitation figures in past

years had been November, March, and April. High

visitation in November is associated with the 49ers

encampment. Recent visitation figures show a close

balance between visitation in cool and hot months.

Death Valley has attracted people for many reasons,

but the prime reasons seem to be the scenic beauty, the opportunity to visit the lowest and hottest

place in the Western Hemisphere, and the notoriety

of the name “Death Valley.” People are also drawn

to the area because of the contrasts that the desert

provides to their place of residence. The majority of

all visitors spend their time on the paved roads

sightseeing and going to major attractions such as

Dantes View, Scotty’s Castle, and Badwater.

Currently, very few of the total number of visitors

venture onto unpaved roads to visit the remote sections of the Park. These sections include such places

as Eureka Dunes, Saline Valley and Hunter

Mountain, but that number is expected to increase

as a result of recent newspaper and magazine articles and the promotion efforts of local communities.

Visitor surveys were conducted in 1990, 1994, and

1996. The 1990 survey was conducted by contacting visitors in developed and remote areas of the

Park. The 1994 survey focused on backcountry

areas of the Park and the 1996 survey was conducted in developed areas and major visitor attractions.

The 1994 survey included Saline Valley. The results

of these surveys indicate that visitors participated in

the following activities:

Other activities which reported less than 20% participation include: visiting Scotty’s Castle, stargazing, driving backcountry roads, taking a tour of the

castle, hiking more than two hours, golfing and a

mixture of other miscellaneous activities.

■ 72% of foreign visitors were from France,

Germany and Switzerland.

■ 21% of all visitors were from California.

■ 72% of the visitors spent less than 1 day in

the Park.

The 1994 backcountry (remote sections of the Park)

survey asked people why they came. People gave

the following reasons:

■ 96% came to view desert scenery

■ 82% came to enjoy the wilderness and

open space

■ 81% enjoyed recreation such as hiking,

driving back roads and camping

■ 78% came to experience solitude and quiet

■ 57% were there to learn more about local

history

■ 56% came to view and study plants and

animals

■ 16% came for “other” reasons such as

photography, riding bicycles, study geology

and geography, enjoy the warm clean air,

and visit family and friends

The backcountry of Death Valley has been primarily

used by California residents who return to seek solitude and desert scenery. Most visitors took day hikes

and visited cultural sites. The survey also sampled

visitors in the recently acquired Eureka and Saline

Valleys. The Saline Warm Springs area continues to

attract many visitors. It is estimated that 14,000

people travel the Saline Valley road each year. Park

rangers reported approximately 120 vehicles parked

at the warm springs the day after the Thanksgiving

holiday in 1996. Visitors on the ground on that

weekend reported the number of vehicles at 76.

52
53

Visitation to the Eureka Dunes is unknown at this

time, but recent observations indicate a steady flow

of visitors during the cooler months. Visitation to the

Greenwater Valley and Saratoga Springs is relatively

light at this time but may increase in the future.

There is a growing number of people who are

choosing to explore the land with a mountain bike.

Bicyclists have traveled the Saline Valley road and

the Steele Pass road, which connects Saline and

Eureka Valleys. BLM rangers have reported an

increase in mountain bike use in the Deep Springs

Valley, which is north of Eureka Valley. A 1995 backcountry visitor survey for Death Valley indicated that

10% of the users had ridden bikes on dirt roads.

Death Valley is an internationally recognized destination. Commercial tour groups visit Death Valley,

often as part of a loop tour, which includes Las

Vegas, Grand Canyon and Yosemite. Overnight

stays associated with tour buses have increased significantly from 342 buses in 1983 to 2,185 buses in

1995. Many Europeans come by rental car and

Asian visitors often come in tour buses.

International tourism continues to be strong as currency exchange rates continue to be favorable.

Many Europeans come during the hottest part of

the summer to experience the extreme temperatures of summer and a landscape that is often a

drastic contrast to their homeland.

Plan Actions

The Park will support recreational activities that are

compatible with management objectives and current visitor needs. It is recognized that recreational

trends continue to change and that specific,

detailed direction on certain activities needs to be

placed under a guiding statement which provides

overall direction. NPS Management Policy on

Recreational Activities provides guidance for determining the appropriateness of recreational activities

in national park units. NPS Management Policies

(NPS 2001) also states that each unit of the National

Park Service has the responsibility to determine

which recreational activities are appropriate or inappropriate, based upon the unit’s purposes and values (see the purpose and significance statements for

Death Valley National Park).

Unless the activity is mandated by statute, the

National Park Service will not allow a recreational

activity within a Park if it would involve or result in

the following:

■ inconsistency with the Park’s enabling legislation or proclamation, or derogation of the

values or purposes for which the Park was

established

■ unacceptable impacts on visitor enjoyment

due to interference or conflict with other

visitor use activities

■ consumptive use of Park resources (this

does not apply to certain traditional activities specifically authorized by NPS general

regulations or by law)

■ unacceptable impacts on Park resources or

natural processes

■ unacceptable levels of danger to the welfare or safety of the public, including participants

The Plan

 Visitor Use, Services, and Facilities
Day Use Areas

The following areas will remain designated as day

use recreation only with no overnight camping: 

■ All paved road areas to 2 miles from the

road

■ Titus Canyon Road

■ West Side Road

■ Wildrose Road

■ Skidoo Road

■ Cottonwood Canyon Road (first 8 miles)

■ Racetrack Road (from Teakettle Junction to

Homestake Dry Camp)

■ Lost Burro Mine

■ Ubehebe Lead Mine

■ The main valley floor from Ashford Mill

north to 2 miles north of Stovepipe Wells.

Additional day use areas may be established in the

new additions to the Park.

Backcountry and Roadside Camping

Background

The backcountry is defined as any area located away

from Park development such as campgrounds, visitor or administrative facilities; typically a place

where development is out of view. Designated

wilderness is included within backcountry areas.

Eureka Dunes and Saline Valley Warm Springs have

informal campgrounds, which receive moderate to

heavy use. The dunes are easily accessible by car

while the springs can be accessed by car if the

weather provides for good road conditions. The

National Park Service traffic count figures indicate a

monthly average of 200 cars that go to the dunes.

The dunes are habitat to two endangered plants.

One of the major threats to these plants is illegal

offroad vehicle use. There are an estimated four or

five informal campsites north of the dunes along

dirt roads. Visitors may also camp along a spur road

northeast of the dunes. A day use parking area with

a vault toilet and two or three picnic tables is located on the northwest corner of the dunes.

Another day use parking lot is located on the north

central end of the dunes. This parking area is large

enough to handle an estimated fifteen to twenty

cars, depending on how people use the space. A

two-foot-high pipe fence frames part of the parking

lot to contain vehicles and discourage any driving on

the dunes. The parking lot provides direct access to

the dunes for hikers and those wanting to play on

the sand. To protect endangered plants, minimum

impact activities are encouraged.

Saline Valley Warm Springs receives use throughout

the year. Over several years, visitors to the springs

have built concrete hot tubs, a water system for the

tubs, dug pit toilets, maintained the short access

road, planted palm trees and a lawn to make their

time at the springs more comfortable. In 1997 the

National Park Service initiated the 30-day limit on

camping that exists in the old monument. Marking

posts have been placed in the ground to define the

wilderness boundary surrounding the area in an

attempt to keep vehicles out of wilderness and designate the camping area.

Public use of the springs has a history that goes

back many years, but use began to rise during the

1960s, with this use level being sustained through

the 1970s, 1980s, and into the 1990s. The place

developed a social culture of its own, highlighted by

a spirit of independence and freedom from the

norms of traditional society of the day. Before the

National Park Service obtained this land, visitors to

the springs had developed their own social order

and developed and managed constructed pools,

camping and other facilities relatively independent

of government funding or oversight. Visitors to the

springs continue to provide maintenance to the

facilities they have constructed, with the Park

Service evolving the use and management of the

area as a national park.

Backcountry camping must be more than 200 yards

from any water source but is allowed at previously

disturbed campsites that are 2 miles beyond developed areas, maintained roads, or day use areas.

Camping is not allowed near the Lost Burro Mine and

the Ubehebe Lead Mine or off several “day use only”

dirt roads such as Titus Canyon and Racetrack road.

Plan Actions

Small, primitive campsites may be established in

some remote areas of the Park to offer alternative

camping experiences including Hidden Valley, Butte

Valley, Echo Canyon, the Nevada Triangle, Racetrack

Valley, and Johnson Canyon.

If camping in wilderness areas resulted in trampled

vegetation or compacted soils over widespread

areas, specific campsites will be designated. The current backcountry voluntary permit system will be

replaced by a mandatory permit system when and

where better resource protection was needed or

where visitor use had exceeded the desired future

54
conditions for backcountry visitor experiences and

resource conditions. The Park has the authority to

limit any activity that is causing resource damage.

Where sensitive areas are noted as receiving or have

the potential to receive adverse impacts, designated

camping sites may be designated away from the

area for that area’s protection.

A wilderness/backcountry management plan is currently being prepared by the Park staff. This new

plan is necessary because of the broad changes in

the amount of area in the Park that is now designated as wilderness. Until the wilderness/backcountry management plan is completed, camping will

continue to be directed under existing management. Currently there are over 350 miles of backcountry roads that are open to camping (unless designated closed) with an unknown number of informal campsites. However, use levels at most of these

areas is quite light. The Park will evaluate camping

in Dedecker Canyon to determine potential and

direct impacts upon the local bighorn sheep population and rare plants from visitor activities in the

canyon. Park staff will determine whether the

canyon or sections of the canyon should be closed

to camping to reduce impacts. The Park will also

reconsider the issue of allowing limited campfires in

the backcountry and wilderness areas during the

planning process for the backcountry and wilderness management plans.

An inventory and monitoring program will be established to gather data on backcountry visitor use and

related impacts associated with car and other types

of camping. Small primitive campsites may be established for car campers and other camps in remote

areas of the Park that receive above average use and

associated threats to Park resources. The management objective will be to mitigate negative impacts

to Park resources, protect human health and safety

and provide an alternative camping experience.

Improvements will be the minimal tool needed to

solve the problem, such as defined tent pads and or

anchored picnic tables. This proposal may be considered within the backcountry management plan.

If camping in wilderness or other backcountry areas

results in destroyed vegetation of other negative

impacts to resources or the visitor experience, management actions will be taken to mitigate or eliminate impacts. Management actions may include

required camping at designated campsites and or

closure of areas to camping.

Backcountry and roadside camping is currently permitted under the following conditions: 

■ Backcountry camping is allowed 2 miles beyond

any developed area, maintained road, or “day

use only” area. Other areas may be closed to

camping. Visitors should check at the visitor or

information centers for current information.

■ Vehicle campers shall use pre-existing campsites.

■ No camping is allowed in some historic mining

districts or on the valley floor from Ashford Mill

to 2 miles north of Stovepipe Wells.

■ Organized groups with 16 or more people

and/or stock animals and 7 or more vehicles

need a special use permit.

■ The length of stay is limited to 30 cumulative

days per year.

■ Campfires are currently prohibited outside of

designated campgrounds. The proposed backcountry/wilderness management plan will consider where such fires may be permitted under

controlled conditions.

■ Visitors are not allowed to collect firewood.

■ The Park initiated a voluntary backcountry use

registration system in 1998 (see “Saline

Valley”).

Backcountry Cabins. The current, interim management of backcountry cabins allows visitors to use

cabins on a first-come, first-served basis. Visitors are

directed to use the cabins in a way that preserves

and protects cabins for future use. The length of

stay is limited to 30 days. The Park is currently

preparing a survey and inventory of cabins in the

Park. Results of this survey will be used to prepare

further management direction for these cabins

based upon their historic significance, condition,

and use levels. When the survey is completed, the

results will be interpreted and placed within the

wilderness/ backcountry management plan.

NPS Management Policies provide the overall guidance regarding backcountry cabin management:

“...facilities located in wilderness will be limited to the types and minimum number essential

to meet the minimum requirements for the

administration of the wilderness area...”

“The construction or reconstruction of shelters

for public use generally will not be allowed,

since wilderness users should be self-supporting in terms of shelter. An existing shelter may

be maintained only if the facility is necessary to

achieve wilderness management objectives or

cultural resource protection objectives.”

Visitor Use in Saline Valley. A site specific management plan will be prepared in consultation with

interested public through the NEPA process. The

55The Plan

 Visitor Use, Services, and Facilities
goal of the plan is to create a strategy for management of the area consistent with NPS mandates and

policies. The plan will address protection of natural

and cultural resources, exotic species, public health

and safety, and environmental restoration, environmental and social carrying capacity of the land, and

designation of the site as a backcountry campground and the appropriate number and development of sites. The following will limit the scope of

the activities permitted at the springs:

■ Soaking tubs/spas will be limited to the current

level of improvements.

■ The Upper Springs will continue to be protected

from human improvements and use and from

burros.

■ The Saline Valley Road will be maintained to its

current surface condition by Inyo County.

■ An analysis will be made of the Chicken Strip

airstrip to determine whether to retain it under

36CFR or whether it should be closed due to

safety and/or resource impact concerns.

■ The proposed site plan will also consider

options for the active restoration of the upper

springs to a natural condition.

Depending upon future use levels and priorities, the

National Park Service could consider maintaining

some of the facilities at the springs.

The National Park Service will work with groups

associated with the springs, to manage this place in

a manner where all members of the public feel welcome. The National Park Service will not actively

promote expanded public use of the springs.

VISITOR USE FEES

Background

Recreational fees and their use are determined in

accordance with the criteria and procedures of the

Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965

(sec. 4, 16 U.S.C.A. 4601-6a (Supp., 1974) and section 3, Act of July 11, 1972, 86 Stat. 461), the

Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (P.L. 104-

134), and regulations in 36 CFR 71. In April 2000,

the National Park Service, in a partnership with the

National Park Foundation, announced a new

National Parks Pass. A parks pass provides entrance

to all national parks for one year at a cost of $50.

Parks selling the pass will be allowed to retain $35

for use on projects at that park. These passes are

sold at all national parks and over the internet via

several retail partners.

Plan Actions

The Park will continue to explore options for fee collection revenues consistent with congressional direction, including collection by third parties. In Death

Valley National Park, entrance fees will continue to

be collected at the Furnace Creek visitor center,

Beatty, the Grapevine Entrance Station, Stovepipe

Wells, and Baker. It is estimated that currently a significant amount of fees go uncollected. The construction of two entrance stations on Highway 190

is being actively planned to facilitate the collection

of these fees and to improve visitor information at

major entrances.

Nonrecreational fees will be collected for activities

such as incidental business use permits, filming, and

special park uses. Death Valley National Park has traditionally been an area where many companies

come to film commercials and movies. The area

receives a significant number of requests from automobile manufacturers to test vehicle-cooling systems. Filming and incidental business permits will

continue to be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Commercial tour buses are charged an entrance fee

based on the seating capacity of the bus.

COMMERCIAL SERVICES

Background

There are no commercial operation facilities located

on federal lands recently acquired. Commercial use

permits have been requested for filming and guided

horse pack trips tours. More permits for other nonfacility-based commercial operations will most likely

be requested in the future. Park employees review

compliance requests with Park regulations and

approve appropriate uses.

Amfac Resorts operates a major visitor resort with

lodging, food services, recreation, and employee

housing. All of the commercial services are located

on private land and are not under control by the

National Park Service. Park management continues

to work on a cooperative relationship with Amfac’s

local manager. The Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch are

their two major operations, both located on 342

acres of private property. Amfac also manages the

concessions operation at Stovepipe Wells, which has

lodging, a restaurant, gas station, and swimming

pool. They also manage a snack bar and gift shop at

Scotty’s Castle. Both operations at Stovepipe Wells

and Scotty’s Castle rest on NPS land and are subject

to NPS controls on pricing and operations. The private operations at Furnace Creek provide visitors

with 294 rooms, 2 swimming pools, an 18-hole golf

56
57

course, tennis courts, restaurants, gift shops, a service station, and general store. During the fall, winter, and spring, visitor accommodations are often

sold out. Amfac now has 300–325 employees living

at Furnace Creek; 89–90 live at Stovepipe Wells and

6 live at Scotty’s Castle.

Panamint Springs Resort is on Highway 190 within

the Park. This commercial operation is on private land

and serves as a western gateway to the Park. The

Park Service has no control over this operation but

works in a cooperation with the owners. The resort

has camping, lodging, a restaurant, and gas pumps.

Plan Actions

All commercial businesses that operate in the Park

are required to obtain a commercial use permit. The

National Park Service operates a concession contract

providing lodging, a restaurant and bar, gift shops,

general store, and gas service at Stovepipe Wells

and food service, a gift shop, and gasoline at

Scotty’s Castle. It is NPS intent to continue these

services. Private overnight lodging not overseen by

the National Park Service exists at Furnace Creek

and Panamint Springs. The National Park Service will

continue to work with the private commercial operations at Furnace Creek and Panamint Springs to

achieve mutual objectives and resolve potential

problems. No duplicative concession services are

planned; however, where additional visitor service

needs arise, the Park will evaluate concessions as a

means to provide such services.

Organized recreational activities, that originate from

outside of the Park and for which a fee is charged

(such as guided motor coach tours, guided horseback and hiking trips, photography workshops,

nature seminars, etc.), are required to obtain an incidental business permit to conduct these activities.

The permit is issued by Park staff and defines the

terms under which the commercial activities can be

conducted within the Park. The fee for this permit

includes the direct and indirect costs of administering the permit. (There is currently a new law that

shall require parks to issue Commercial Use

Authorizations to replace the incidental business

permit, but at present has not been instituted.) The

Park will evaluate those commercial uses to ensure

that the activities are compatible with Park purposes and that they don’t detract or destroy the

resources for which the Park was established. In

some cases the Park may limit the number of commercial activities or operators if the Park

Superintendent determines that Park values or

resources are diminished or the Park visitor experience is compromised or intruded upon.

As the local and regional populations near Death

Valley National Park increase, and if national and

international visitation continue to increase

throughout the year, the Park can expect more

recreational activities to occur of a commercial

nature or origin from outside of the Park. These

activities may began to occur throughout the entire

Park area and not just in the major tourist corridor

of Highway 190 and the Furnace Creek area as currently exists. This may be especially true of the types

of activities that originate from the Las Vegas,

Nevada area as those visitors are looking for other

recreational opportunities that exist beyond the city.

The Park will be required to evaluate the types and

numbers of these activities and shall issue no more

commercial use authorizations “than are consistent

with the preservation and proper management of

Park resources and values.” 

The Plan

 Visitor Use, Services, and Facilities
A development concept plan is an intermediate plan

between a general management plan and a specific design with construction drawings. These plans

are applied to situations where there is a need to

plan for visitor, or other administrative facilities. The

process involves an analysis of human activities, natural systems, cultural features, and management

objectives for a specific geographic area.

Recommendations are then made on appropriate

activities and the areas in which they should take

place and on what facilities would be needed to

support the desired end results. Development concept plans will be prepared for the following areas:

SCOTTY’S CASTLE

A historic resources study, cultural landscape report,

and historic structure reports will be prepared to

help determine the appropriate uses of the historic

structures and the appropriate manipulation of the

environment. Upon completion of these reports, a

development concept plan will be prepared to

establish various facility requirements, the appropriateness of relocating maintenance and curatorial

functions, visitor circulation patterns, staffing levels,

and the location of employee housing. The concessions program at Scotty’s Castle will be retained for

the foreseeable future.

FURNACE CREEK AND COW CREEK

A development concept plan will be prepared for

administrative and visitor facilities at Furnace Creek

and administrative facilities at Cow Creek. Presently

the administrative facilities are inadequate. Planning

for both areas will be guided by the desire to limit

the growth of development and the related demand

on Park resources such as water and land. This could

be done by relocating some administrative activities

that do not need to be within the Park to areas outside of the Park into adjacent communities or

through conservation methods.

GRAPEVINE

A development concept plan is underway. The purpose of this plan will be to remove unsightly and inadequate NPS housing and maintenance facilities from a

public use area, to consolidate certain functions, provide more adequate housing for Park and concession

employees, assure appropriate visitor services, visitor

information, safety, and resource protection.

Employee trailer housing will be replaced and temporary facilities will be eliminated. Some National

Park Service and concessioner employees now residing at Scotty’s Castle might be relocated to

Grapevine or another location. A small community

building and recreation facilities may be provided.

Some maintenance functions could be relocated

from Scotty’s Castle, and the museum-quality items

now stored in various buildings at the castle might

be moved into a climate-controlled structure at

Grapevine or another location to ensure their appropriate storage (if appropriate space could not be

found at the Castle or other locations).

Water and power may be limiting factors in the

development of housing and maintenance areas at

Grapevine. Further studies will determine if it would

be feasible to utilize water in the area. All feasible

alternatives will be explored in preparing the development concept plan. Some facilities may be relocated outside the Park.

STOVEPIPE WELLS

Stovepipe Wells will be renovated in accordance

with a site management plan. The concessions program at Stovepipe Wells will be retained for the

foreseeable future.

■ The existing campground will be redesigned.

■ The ultimate number of RV hookup campsites at Stovepipe Wells will be determined as

a part of the site plan.

■ A paved section of the existing airstrip will be

converted for helicopter use. The remainder

of the airstrip will be converted to a gravel

strip and not be used as an overflow camping area.

■ Landscaping will utilize native species and

will depend on water availability.

WILDROSE

A site plan will be developed for the Wildrose area

to determine the future direction of the facilities and

use of the area. This may include appropriate use by

the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe in accordance with a

jointly developed memorandum of understanding

between the Tribe and the Park. 

58

General Development Concepts General Development Concepts
ROADS

Background

There are five state highway entrances to the Park

and numerous unpaved entrances. Townes Pass and

Furnace Creek, both on California Highway 190, are

the principal entrance routes. Other access routes

are Jubilee Pass, Daylight Pass, and Grapevine.

Daylight Pass is more heavily used in the summer

when people do not wish to take the linear route

through the valley. Inyo County has indicated an

intent to oil their section of the Big Pine road, which

serves as an entrance into the northwest corner of

the Park. Traffic on this entrance is lower than at

other entrances; the average daily traffic from 1992

to 1995 is 10 vehicles per day. In 1996 the Park

recorded 2,988 vehicles for an average of 8.2 cars

per day. Use of the Eureka Sand Dunes may increase

if Inyo County businesses continue to promote

recreational visits to the dunes and if the County

Road Department oils the remainder of the Big Pine

road to the turn off to the dunes.

The Park has a vast network of roads, ranging from

high-speed highways to unmaintained four-wheel

drive roads. The Park staff maintains 696 miles of

road. Of that, 243 miles are classified as standard

vehicle roads, or paved or unpaved that require no

more ground clearance than a standard sedan. High

clearance or four-wheel drive roads constitute 442

miles, and about 10 miles are service spur roads.

California State Highway 190, the main route

through the Park, is maintained by the California

Department of Transportation (Caltrans). In addition,

there are many miles of roads maintained by the

county or by mining companies. The Park encompasses hundreds of miles of unmaintained fourwheel drive routes. When the monument became a

Park in 1994, it did not require responsibility for any

additional paved roads. Most of the new NPS roads

are unpaved four-wheel drive roads that provide

access to remote locations such as the Saline Valley

and Hunter Mountain. The Park has been

approached by Caltrans to assume maintenance

over about 10 miles of Highway 178 near Shoshone.

Plan Actions

The current road management plan for the Park will

be reevaluated because of changes in visitor use

patterns, the addition of more roads from Park

expansion, and a need to readjust maintenance priorities in reaction to funding levels. The plan will

determine such things as the status of duplicate

road sections, road surface conditions, and the level

of maintenance. An increasing number of buses are

entering the Park, resulting in changing visitor use

patterns on roads and elsewhere. The management

philosophy will be to protect cultural and natural

resources, enhance the visitor experience while providing for safe and efficient accommodation of Park

visitors. It also will include the need to provide a

road system that allows for a variety of driving experiences that are consistent with the purpose and significance statements of the Park. It is very unlikely

that new roads will be created in the future unless

there is strong justification to do so.

The practice of not performing routine maintenance

on high clearance and four-wheel drive backcountry

roads will continue. However, emergency repairs

might be undertaken following flash floods. Vehicle

use in the Park will be limited to street legal vehicles.

No offroad driving will be permitted.

A review of the alignment of Highway 190 at

Stovepipe Wells will be requested from Caltrans. The

intent of this action is to decrease the potential for

pedestrian/vehicle accidents near the gas station.

TRAILS

Background

The recently acquired lands contain an informal trail

that leads up to Darwin Falls. This is a 2-mile round

trip that winds its way up a narrow canyon through

willows until the falls are reached. The trail needs

some maintenance including pruning willows to

allow hikers to pass through the thickets. The parking area for the trailhead has been pulled back out

of the wash. There are informal trails in Saline

Valley, where users of the warm springs have created trails to points of interest such as Rod Falls, the

Seven Sisters Springs, and the Red Cinder Cone

Trail. The Saline Valley road serves as access to trails

located in the Inyo Mountains on BLM and USFS

land. The Lonesome Miner trail head is accessed

from off of the Saline Valley road up Hunter

Canyon. This 49-mile trail which generally follows

ridgelines extends from Hunter Canyon on the

south to Reward Canyon on the north. Access to

this trailhead is across NPS land.

There are many defined trails or identified hiking

corridors within the old monument boundaries.

Corridors are often defined by canyons, washes, or

ridgelines. The lower elevation trails are frequently

used during the cooler months of the year while the

upper elevation trails get most of their use during

the summer. Very few sources of drinking water

exist along these trails or corridors, limiting the

59

Roads and Cir Roads and Circulation culation

The Plan

 Roads and Circulation
duration of most hiking activities. Several trails or

routes have been identified as day hikes, requiring

less than a day to complete the whole route. Trail

surfaces vary from paved, boardwalk to unmaintained soil conditions. The Park has identified

approximately 16 miles of dirt trails, 1.5 miles of

paved, 0.25 miles of boardwalk, and unlimited

undefined hiking routes for day use.

Several routes and trails have also been identified

for backcountry hikes, requiring more expenditure

of time and effort by the hiker. The majority of

backcountry hikes are defined as routes following

canyons, ridges, abandoned roads or other land features. The Park has identified an unlimited number

of miles and hiking routes or trails for visitors wishing to hike into remote sections of the Park. Some

springs are present along routes, camping is allowed

away from springs and voluntary backcountry permits are recommended. Telescope and Wildrose

Peak trails are recommended as both day and backcountry hikes.

Very little trail maintenance has occurred over the

years because of restricted staff and budgets.

Telescope and Wildrose Peak trails are the only

maintained, backcountry trails.

Plan Actions

At the present time, hiking is allowed on all open

trails, while equestrian use is allowed in most areas.

Single-track pedestrian walks or trails, such as

Golden Canyon, will not be open to equestrian use.

Bicycles will not be allowed on single-track trails or

in wilderness. Cross-country foot or equestrian travel is allowed. No new trails are currently planned but

will be considered in the wilderness/backcountry

management plan.

The wilderness/backcountry management plan will

address specific trail use by hikers, equestrians, and

people with disabilities. The plan will also address

the intensity of trail development, including the type

and number of signs, trails, and trailheads, long distant trails extending into other jurisdictions, and the

anticipated maintenance levels for developed trails.

Abandoned roads in wilderness will continue to be

closed to mechanized use (vehicles and bicycles)

according to the Wilderness Act, but will be considered for use as trails in the wilderness plan. The

1989 General Management Plan called for a

Panamint Crest Trail to be developed from

Aguereberry Point south into Johnson or Warm

Spring Canyon. The need for this is somewhat questionable given the open character of the area. This

proposal will be re-examined by the Park in the

wilderness/backcountry planning effort.

Trailhead orientation signs will be installed where

appropriate to aid in visitor safety and resource protection.

SIGNS

Plan Actions

The Park's management direction on signs is for

signs to be unobtrusive, minimal, and blend with

the natural environment so that the undeveloped

wild character and sense of exploration remains. A

sign plan will be prepared by the National Park

Service that will ensure this vision is carried out. The

sign plan will provide for directional signs to major

points of interest which are typically located on the

major roads that receive most of the traffic.

Secondary or backcountry roads will remain relatively free of directional signs. It is the intention of this

management direction to keep visitors from becoming lost and allow the backcountry roads to remain

lightly traveled. Efforts will be made in the sign plan

to use international symbols or other appropriate

methods to keep signs simple and easily understood

for the broad spectrum of visitors entering the Park.

Because the desert can be unforgiving in the summer, consideration will be given in the sign plan for

signs that could help protect the health and safety

of visitors unfamiliar with the desert. Boundary signs

will be maintained at all Park access points in the

backcountry to inform people that all historical,

archeological, and natural objects are protected

under federal law. A variety of media will also be

used to minimize the proliferation of signs. 

60
61

PARK ADMINISTRATION

Background

Furnace Creek/Cow Creek

Furnace Creek serves as the main administrative

headquarters for the Park and has a visitor center

and an administrative office. These buildings were

built in the late 1950s and are not large enough for

all central office staff. As a result, the maintenance,

resource protection, and visitor use staff are located

at Cow Creek, 3 miles north of headquarters. The

original adobe buildings at Cow Creek, built during

the CCC era, include the old administrative building

and several maintenance buildings. These buildings

have gained historic status. The Furnace Creek,

Cow Creek area functions as a small town with an

airstrip, gas station, store, school, emergency fire,

police, medical, and maintenance services. Park

management is reviewing possible office space outside the Park.

Scotty’s Castle

Scotty’s Castle is located 55 miles north of headquarters. NPS employees work in a modular building located on the upper edge of the grounds. The

building was brought in after a fire destroyed a historic building that had served as office space. Other

buildings are now used for storing various materials.

Maintenance Facilities

More than 70% of the maintenance staff are now

located at Cow Creek and 23% are at Scotty’s

Castle. One maintenance worker and three rangers

are located at Stovepipe Wells. Rangers at Wildrose

also assist in light maintenance of the three adjacent

campgrounds. The maintenance division is responsible for over 50 buildings, 9 campgrounds, 243 miles

of standard vehicle paved road, 442 miles of high

clearance or 4x4 and 10 miles of service road, 60

houses and 8 water systems. Travel distances and

extreme heat are two major obstacles in performing

daily operations. Because Death Valley is now the

largest national park in the contiguous United

States, there are some limitations on how much the

Park can accomplish under the current conditions.

Maintenance and other Park staff need three hours

to travel from Grapevine to Eureka Dunes and an

additional two to three hours to drive from there to

the Saline Valley Warm Springs.

The Cow Creek maintenance facility takes care of

most visitor and administrative facilities because of

its nearness to Furnace Creek and other intense visitor and administrative use zones. Several buildings

including the auto shop are contained inside historic

structures with adobe walls, which limits renovations and expansions. At this time, there is no adequate space or facilities for the maintenance operation, and employees are looking to expand onto the

abandoned Salt Pan housing area or the current

storage yard to the east. California Department of

Transportation also has a maintenance yard just

south of the main NPS yard.

The maintenance operation at Scotty’s Castle maintains the historic structures and grounds, which

require special attention. They are also responsible for

employee housing at Grapevine, the campground at

Mesquite Spring, and facilities at Eureka Dunes.

Plan Actions

The Park will make an effort to replaced nonnative

plants and landscapes with native plants and landscapes around administrative and visitor facilities

where appropriate for interpretive, aesthetic, water

conservation and other management purposes.

Efforts will be made to reduce the number of exotic

plants such as athel tamarisk, oleander, and palms.

Administrative Operations and Facilities Administrative Operations and Facilities

The Plan

 Administrative Operations and Facilities
62

EMPLOYEE HOUSING

Background

The majority of the staff live at the Cow Creek housing area which has 60 housing units and 37 transient trailer/RV sites. Stovepipe Wells has seven units

and six transient trailer/RV sites; Wildrose has three

units; Grapevine has 16 units and two transient

trailer sites; and Scotty’s Castle has five units. Nine

additional units are occupied by Caltrans, State

Highway Patrol and Natural History Association

employees. Grapevine has a severe shortage of

housing, which has resulted in employees living at

Cow Creek and commuting to Scotty’s Castle, over

a 60-minute commute. A housing development

plan for Grapevine has been initiated by Park staff.

Currently, the Park has 22 employment opportunities but no Park housing available. The contractorconducted housing assessment completed in 1998

concluded that there was a need for an additional

19 housing units to meet current staffing needs.

Park management believes there is a need for 76

additional units.

Park management is encouraging certain employees

to seek housing outside the Park. Alternate work

schedules have been initiated and telecommuting is

being considered.

Plan Actions

The development concept plan underway for the

Grapevine area will recommend providing housing

and replacing the existing trailers for the northern

district of the Park. Ongoing trailer replacement

with permanent houses will continue.

Permanently placed trailers will never again be

allowed at any NPS housing facility where they currently do not exist. Once the trailers at Grapevine are

replaced, this policy will be extended to that location.

Transient trailers and RVs are allowed in designated

NPS areas, but not permanently placed trailers.

Prior to constructing additional housing for employees, the Park will evaluate the location of the housing and make a determination about whether private housing elsewhere within a one hour drive

could serve the same need, and whether the total

housing units are the minimum necessary to meet

the mission of the Park.

SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL

The Park landfill near Furnace Creek has been closed

to further use and current law and regulations prohibit

landfills in parks. Solid waste disposal will continue to

be hauled to approved landfills outside the Park. 
63

PARK BOUNDARY AND AUTHORIZED

ACREAGE

No changes in the boundary of the Park are proposed. Clerical or drafting corrections may be made

to the maps and legal descriptions. During the prolonged debate over the expansion of the Death

Valley National Monument and the creation of the

Park by the California Desert Protection Act, the

boundaries were subjected to considerable scrutiny

and public debate. The National Park Service

believes a comprehensive examination of potential

boundary modifications at this time is unwarranted.

The boundary map submitted to Congress in

August 1996 reflects an accurate total acreage of

3,396,172 acres for Death Valley National Park.

The National Park Service intends to locate some

facilities outside the Park, consistent with the existing management direction and actions proposed in

this plan. This will include, but will not be limited to,

visitor facilities in Beatty, Baker, and Lone Pine, as

well as possibly other communities. It also includes

the potential establishment of a satellite office in or

around areas east of the Park to provide office space

for some employees.

WILDERNESS

Background

On October 31, 1994, Congress designated approximately 3,158,033 acres (95%) of Death Valley as

wilderness. The California Desert Protection Act (sec.

601b) also provides for the potential automatic creation of another 6,840 acres of wilderness along a

powerline corridor from Furnace Creek to Stovepipe

Wells upon cessation of the powerline use.

In 1964 Congress enacted the Wilderness Act,

which [sec.2.(c)] defined wilderness as:

A wilderness, in contrast with those areas

where man and his works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where

the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor

who does not remain. An area of wilderness is

further defined to mean in Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent

improvements or human habitation, which is

protected and managed so as to preserve its

natural conditions and which (1) generally

appears to have been affected primarily by the

forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work

substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding

opportunities for solitude or a primitive and

unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least

five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient

size as to make practicable its preservation and

use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may

also contain ecological, geological or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value (16 U.S.C. 1131).

Plan Actions

In 1994, Congress enacted the California Desert

Protection Act, which designated 3,158,038 acres

of Death Valley National Park (95% of the Park) as

wilderness.

The Wilderness Act (section 4(c)) specifically prohibits the following activities in wilderness: commercial enterprises, permanent roads, temporary

roads, use of motor vehicles, use of motorized

equipment, use of motorboats, landing of aircraft,

mechanical transportation, and structures or installations. Wilderness designation does not mean that

existing structures within those areas have to be

removed. If consideration is given to removing

them, that action is covered by the same policies,

regulations, and guidelines, and is subject to the

same review and compliance procedures, as are historical structures in non-wilderness areas.

The Wilderness Act (section 5(a) and (b)) provides a

right of access to parties recognizably vested in

lands within BLM or U.S. Forest Service wilderness

boundaries (sections 5 (a) and (b), are not applicable

to NPS wilderness) including private landowners,

state-owned lands, and valid mining rights and

occupancies. These sections provide those owners

of nonfederal lands or interests in lands may have a

right to traverse wilderness to access these lands.

Ranchers (on NPS grazing allotments) will normally

be required to access wilderness on foot or horseback, similar to other users. However, certain situations may exist where motorized access is necessary

to maintain range developments. These types of

access could be considered under section 708 of the

California Desert Protection Act that provides for

adequate access and reasonable use and enjoyment

to owners of nonfederal lands or interests that lie in

wilderness. A minimum tool determination will be

used prior to granting approval for motorized/

mechanical equipment use within wilderness.

Congressional action is needed for any boundary

changes to designated wilderness areas.

The California Desert Protection Act modifies some

provisions of the Wilderness Act. The following are

the key provisions of the act related to wilderness:

The Plan

 Landownership and Use

Landownership and Use Landownership and Use
■ Native Americans may gain access to sacred

sites in NPS or BLM wilderness, but such access

must be consistent with the Wilderness Act

[sec. 705.(a)].

■ Federal reserved water rights are explicitly

reserved for BLM and NPS wilderness [sec.

706(a)].

■ Inholders have rights of adequate access for

reasonable use and enjoyment in units of the

national park system, including NPS wilderness

and BLM wilderness [sec 708].

For each non-emergency entry, the grazing allottee

may enter Park wilderness, under certain conditions,

with a motorized/ mechanized vehicle or use motorized equipment with permission from the

Superintendent. Emergency entry (imminent danger

of loss of livestock, severe facility damage, an

injured person requiring transport, or a life-threatening situation) with a motorized/mechanized vehicle and/or requiring the use of motorized equipment

must be reported before or just after it occurs.

Although over 95% of Death Valley is designated as

wilderness, about 700 miles of roads (paved and

dirt) remain open within this Park (Rothfuss 1996).

The National Park Service will manage wilderness

areas for the use and enjoyment of the American

people in a way that would leave them unimpaired

for future use and enjoyment as wilderness.

Management would include the maximum statutory protection allowed for these areas, the preservation of their wilderness character, and the gathering

and dissemination of information regarding their

use and enjoyment as wilderness. Public use of

wilderness may include recreation, scenic preservation, scientific study, education, conservation, historical use, and solitude. A separate wilderness/

backcountry plan (in progress) will address specific

management actions.

The Wilderness Act generally prohibits motorized

equipment or mechanized transport in designated

wilderness areas; however, it allows them “as necessary to meet minimum requirements for the

administration of the area for the purpose of this

Act.” The Superintendent will administer wilderness

lands in the Park with the minimum disturbance to

the area or its resources. All decisions pertaining to

administrative practices and use of equipment in

wilderness will be based on this concept. Potential

disruption of wilderness character and resources

and applicable safety concerns will be considered

before, and given significantly more weight than,

economic efficiency. If some activities must occur in

wilderness, only those actions that will have acceptable impacts will be acceptable.

The Park will use the “minimum tool” concept

when proposing to control exotic vegetation within

a wilderness area.

The process of delineating final wilderness boundaries

for the Park is provided in title VI of the California

Desert Protection Act. This process of determining and

mapping the S-21 wilderness boundaries is still underway. The legal descriptions have not yet been prepared. Once completed, final wilderness boundary

maps will be submitted to Congress. It is assumed that

the actual wilderness acreage may deviate from the

approximate acreage of 3,158,038 acres estimated in

section 601 of the act.

The California Desert Protection Act (sec. 601b) provides for an additional 6,840 acres of the Park to

become wilderness automatically upon cessation of all

uses prohibited by the Wilderness Act and publication

of such notice in the Federal Register by the Secretary

of the Interior. This area is the powerline corridor from

Furnace Creek to Stovepipe Wells as depicted in the

1989 General Management Plan.

The NPS wilderness management policies are based

on statutory provisions of the 1916 NPS Organic

Act, the 1964 Wilderness Act and the California

Desert Protection Act. In addition the Park uses the

“Principles for Wilderness Management in the

California Desert” for reference. These reference

materials were developed in 1995 by the federal

managers of the Mojave Desert for informational

purposes. The managers represented the Bureau of

Land Management (California Desert and Yuma

Districts), the National Park Service (Death Valley

and Joshua Tree National Parks and Mojave National

Preserve), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(California State Supervisor). The Park staff will work

with surrounding agencies to provide the maximum

consistency in desert wilderness management.

LAND ACQUISITION

Background

Private lands (other than patented claims) occur in

seven areas of the Park and cover about 4,200

acres.

The Statehood Act of 1850 granted to the state of

California all unappropriated and surveyed sections

16 and 36. These sections (state school lands) in the

Park are being considered for land exchanges with

64
other federal properties in the state. Most of the

state land included in those grants within the old

monument boundary has been acquired by the

National Park Service through exchange. However,

with the recent addition of lands to the Parks, the

state of California still holds fee title to 82 parcels

totaling 41,340 acres. The state also holds mineral

rights on several parcels of land. The California

State Lands Commission has requested from the

Secretary of the Interior an exchange of state school

lands for other surplus federal properties. The

Secretary, as specified in section 707 of the

California Desert Protection Act, has begun negotiations with the state to finalize the land exchange.

Plan Actions

The National Park Service is required by the USDI

policy to prepare a land protection plan for every

NPS unit that has nonfederal lands or interests in its

authorized boundary. Detailed descriptions of the

nonfederal lands and interests are also included.

The National Park Service will seek funds to acquire

the majority of private lands and interests in the

Park based on priorities presented in the “Land

Protection Plan.” Private land at Furnace Creek and

Panamint Springs will be acquired if requested by

the owners. Private land in wilderness, habitat for

threatened or endangered species, and riparian

areas will be considered high priority for purchase.

Donations and exchanges of real property from willing sellers will be a priority, and third party acquisitions from willing sellers will be encouraged.

Exchange of state school sections in the new lands

will continue to be actively exchanged pursuant to

the California Desert Protection Act direction.

MINERAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

Background

About 60% of private lands in Death Valley are

patented mining claims. There are 19 patented mining claim groups totaling 6,444 acres. The Park also

has approximately 125 unpatented mining claims

covering about 2,262 acres. The National Park

Service typically conducts a determination of validity on unpatented mining claims when a proposed

plan of operation is received from an operator. This

process may result in fewer unpatented mining

claims in the Park as those that cannot support discovery of a valuable deposit are contested.

Plan Actions

The Park will administer mineral development activities under existing laws and regulations applicable

to such activities. The Mining in the Parks Act of

1976 (P.L. 94-429) prescribed that all activities

resulting from the exercise of valid existing rights on

patented and unpatented mining claims within any

area of the national park system shall be subject to

regulations developed and administered by the

National Park Service. The regulations governing

mining activities on all patented and unpatented

claims found at 36 CFR Part 9A require operators to

file a plan of operations with the National Park

Service for all mineral related activities. Proposed

mining operations must meet the approval standards provided in the regulations and post a performance bond equivalent to the cost of reclamation before an operation will proceed.

No specific mining is authorized by this general

management plan. Each mining proposal is required

to submit a detailed mining and reclamation plan

and undergo separate environmental impact analysis. Consultation for listed species and cultural

resources would occur at that time. When mining is

authorized, full reclamation of the site is required

upon cessation of mining activity.

Congress also closed the Park to all new mining

claim location and all other forms of appropriation

and disposal. Section 305 of the California Desert

Protection Act withdrew the Park from all forms of

entry, appropriation or disposal under the public land

65The Plan

 Landownership and Use
laws; from location, entry and patent under the

United States mining laws; and from disposition

under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal

leasing and the sale of mineral materials. This provision of the act is subject to valid existing rights.

The National Park Service also regulates mineral

development on valid nonfederal oil and gas interests in accordance with 36 CFR Part 9B. This involves

property where the surface is held by the federal

government, but the mineral rights were retained by

the private party when the land was acquired.

Whenever a proposed mineral development fails to

meet the regulatory approval standards and no

alternative development scenario is feasible, the

National Park Service will seek funding to initiate

acquisition of the mineral rights.

The Park will also undertake a sensitive resource

analysis based on an objective analysis of physical,

biological, cultural and visitor use values relative to

projected mining impacts. This analysis will examine

potential mineral development scenarios that will be

likely to occur on each property based on the

deposit, and assuming operator performance standards and specific mitigation will be applied to protect resources and values. The results of this analysis

will be used to identify areas of the Park where mineral development will be inconsistent with the mission of the Park and likely mineral development will

not be able to meet 36 CFR Part 9A or 9B approval

standards. In these areas, acquisition of the mineral

rights will be pursued.

ABANDONED MINES

The legacy of past mining in the Park has left hundreds of abandoned mine sites with possibly thousands of mine openings and workings. Experience in

the old monument lands and preliminary observations on the new lands indicate the problem is a significant land management issue. The 1992 Western

Region Directive WR-085, Management of

Abandoned Mineral Lands (AML) outlines the

framework for a Park AML program. The National

Park Service will conduct a comprehensive inventory of all AML sites in the Park to serve as the basis

for future planning and reclamation program implementation. The inventory will build upon existing

information from the U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau

of Mines and Bureau of Land Management databases, as well as previous data collected by Park staff.

The program goals will include elimination of physical safety hazards and hazardous materials; mitigation of adverse environmental impacts to Park

resources, including the restoration of landscapes,

soils and vegetation; protection of important

wildlife habitat such as bat habitat; and preservation

of historic and cultural resources which may include

stabilization of structures.

SAND AND GRAVEL FOR ROAD

MAINTENANCE

The use of borrow sources for road maintenance

will be evaluated during the preparation of the road

management plan. Such use will conform to NPS

Management Policies.

CATTLE GRAZING

Background

Cattle have grazed in California’s northern and eastern Mojave Desert for well over 100 years. With the

signing of the California Desert Protection Act of

1994, Death Valley National Park acquired a portion

of four BLM grazing allotments: Eureka Valley, Last

Chance, Hunter Mountain, and Lacey-CactusMcCloud. Eureka Valley and Lacey-Cactus-McCloud

have small acreages with no substantial animal unit

months. The portions of these allotments in Death

Valley have been cancelled. The Last Chance allotment has not been issued a permit since 1996 due

to the lack of forage. At the time of the passage of

the CDPA, the NPS portion of this permit contained

1,628 AUMs. The Hunter Mountain allotment occurs

on both NPS and BLM lands. The NPS portion covers

about 86,400 acres and contains 1,105 AUMs.

Plan Actions

No grazing is permitted on the former monument

lands. As authorized by the California Desert

Protection Act of 1994, the privilege of cattle grazing within the Park shall continue at no more than

the October 31, 1994 level and is subject to applicable NPS regulations, policies, and Park management direction.

The animal unit months (AUMs) for each grazing

permit in Death Valley National Park at the time of

the signing of the California Desert Protection Act

(1994) were:

AUMs

Hunter Mountain 1,105

Last Chance 1,628

Eureka Valley 0

Lacey-Cactus-McCloud 0

66
No grazing will be permitted on the NPS portions of

the Eureka Valley or Lacey-Cactus-McCloud BLM

allotments. No permit has been issued on the Last

Chance allotment since 1996 due to the lack of forage. The NPS considers this area of the Park to be

permanently retired from grazing. The NPS will work

with the permittee on the Hunter Mountain allotment to develop grazing practices and levels, not to

exceed 1,105 AUMs through development of a

grazing management plan. This area has a defined

season of use from November 20 to June 30.

The AUMs as of the date of the current planning

effort (2000) within Death Valley National Park is:

AUMs

Hunter Mountain 1,105

Last Chance 0

Eureka Valley 0

Lacey-Cactus-McCloud 0

The California Desert Protection Act directs the

Secretary of the Interior to make the acquisition of

“base property” from willing sellers a priority above

all other acquisitions in the Park. Death Valley’s

management goal is to achieve the permanent

retirement of grazing. If ranchers notify the

Superintendent of their willingness to sell base

property, the Superintendent would immediately

notify the Secretary of the Interior of the priority

acquisition and request Land and Water

Conservation funding from Congress. The Park will

also work with conservation organizations to purchase grazing permits from willing sellers. Once a

grazing permit was purchased and the new owners

(i.e. conservation organizations) request retirement,

it will be permanently retired. Also, if an allotment

were placed in a nonuse status, after a period of five

years, it will be permanently retired.

Where permits are acquired or retired, ranch developments could eventually be removed and site

restoration undertaken.

The NPS grazing management plan will evaluate all

significant resources in the permit area. Those

resources include sensitive plants, habitats, other

unusual plant assemblages, sensitive animals, and cultural resources. The plan will include how many cattle

and the time and place where these cattle will be

allowed to graze, seasonal restrictions, the placement/

movement of mineral blocks and water facilities as a

tool to alter cattle use patterns, pasture rotation, etc.

The plan will also establish a monitoring protocol to

allow frequent evaluations of the Park resources to

evaluate efficacy of the management practices.

Management changes will be made accordingly.

Fees will be based on BLM schedules and NPS

Special Use Permit costs. Grazing fees will be used

for Park resource management and restoration projects. Restrictions on grazing use will be based on

resource conditions, visitor safety and wilderness values. The Superintendent has the discretion to lower

grazing use levels, as necessary to respond to

resource protection needs, visitor safety, or wilderness values. Use levels will be based, in the interim,

on existing permit plans, and if changed, will be

based on scientific data, and on water, forage, protection of threatened and endangered species,

riparian areas, water availability, and soils.

In regard to access, ranchers will normally be

required to access wilderness on foot or horseback,

similar to other users. However, certain situations

may exist where motorized access is necessary to

maintain range developments. These types of access

could be considered under section 708 of the

California Desert Protection Act that provides for

adequate access and reasonable use and enjoyment

to owners of nonfederal lands or interests that lie in

wilderness. A minimum tool determination will be

used prior to granting approval for motorized/

mechanical equipment use within wilderness. Death

Valley National Park will follow the Wilderness Act

and the California Desert Protection act in the

administration of the Park’s wilderness areas.

Permit area fences will be inspected to ensure they

provide for movement of wildlife. In cases where

movements may be impeded modifications would

be required.

If the grazing permittee seek to acquire new water

rights for the permit area, NPS Management Policies

require that all rights to the use of water diverted to

or used on federal lands within national parks will

be perfected in the name of the United States.

Under this plan three of four permits have been permanently retired. The National Park Service will

allow cattle grazing of 1,105 animal unit months on

the Hunter Mountain permit area and until such

time as all grazing is retired, subject to the considerations indicated above. 

67The Plan

 Landownership and Use
68

OPERATIONAL COSTS

The existing Park operating base in FY 01 is $6.8

million and existing staffing is 118. In order to fully

implement the proposed action over the 15-year life

of the plan, and assuming that above proposed

activities are undertaken and visitor use of the Park

increases, an additional 37 staff will be needed. This

will require approximately $1.7 million per year

added to the Park’s operating base to cover salaries,

benefits, and administrative expenses (space, utilities, vehicles, etc.).

The estimated costs of acquiring private lands and

mining claims under this alternative are not yet

available. No comprehensive evaluation of land

acquisition costs has been undertaken in accordance with NPS policy and therefore cannot be estimated at this time. The cost of acquiring property

involves title searches, appraisals, relocation costs,

and fair market value of the property. These specific costs will be available only on a property by property basis and will need to be determined based on

current market values. An approved cost estimate

for the land protection alternative selected will be

prepared at a later date by the Washington office.

Construction and planning cost estimates are conceptual estimates only. These are costs of similar

types of facilities and past NPS experience derived

from contract data. The estimates include indirect

costs added to cover such things as design services,

contract supervision, and contingencies. They also

take into account the cost of contracting for such

services in a remote Park setting, seasonal constraints, labor availability, and wage rates. The costs

are based on 2000 values. 

Plan Implementation Plan Implementation
69

Maps

1. Region

2. Place Names

3. Park Boundary and Preliminary Wilderness

4. Saline Valley Warm Springs

5. Landownership

6. Mining Claims and Inactive Mines

7. Cattle Grazing Permit
70
71

Maps

1 Badwater

2 Dantes View

3 Zabriskie Point

4 Saratoga Springs

5 Dumont Dunes

6 Wingate Wash

7 Butte Valley

8 Harrisburg Flats

9 Nemo County

10 Skidoo

11 Emigrant

12 Ryan

13 Cottonball Basin

14 Keane Wonder Mine

15 Chloride City
72
73
75

Maps
76
77Maps
79

Tables

Table 1: 1994 Water Use at Death Valley National Park

Table 2: BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Herd Management Areas for Herds Adjacent

to Death Valley National Park

Table 3: Burro and Wild Horse Population Data

Table 4: Death Valley National Park Annual Visitation

Table 5: Death Valley National Park Visitor Activities

Table 6: Death Valley National Park Visitor Profile

Table 7: Average Daily Traffic Levels (1995)

Table 8: Proposed Action Cost Summary
80

TABLE 1: 1994 WATER USE AT DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK.

Water System Average Annual Use

(Millions of Gallons)

Average Annual Use

(acre feet)

Comments

Cow Creek 58.400 179.2 Unmetered

Furnace Creek 42.828 131.4 Meter broken in 1992

Wildrose 0.748 2.3 Unmetered

Stovepipe Wells 0.131 0.4 Meter removed 1993

Scotty’s Castle 72.237 221.7 Sep 89- Apr 94 data

Grapevine 3.561 10.9 Unknown type and period

Mesquite Campground 1.041 3.2 Unmetered

AMFAC at Stovepipe Wells 1.280 3.9 Jan 90 – Mar 94

AMFAC at Furnace Creek 611.971 1,878 Sep 89 – Mar 94

Timbisha Village 12.572 38.6 Dec 91 – Mar 94

Totals 804.768 2,470

(Source: Provisional data from NPS Files)

TABLE 2: BLM'S WILD HORSE AND BURRO HERD MANAGEMENT AREAS FOR HERDS ADJACENT TO

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

Herd Management

Areas (HMA)

BLM’s Herd Management

Levels (revised*)

BLM’s October 1996

Population Estimate**

Piper 82 burros and 17 horses 5 burros and 54 horses

Lee Flat 9 burros (70%)*** 60 burros

Centennial 0 burros and 160 horses (5%) 116 burros and 280 horses

Chicago Valley 27 burros and 27 horses (5%) 6 burros and 9 horses

Total 118 burros and 204 horses 187 burros and 343 horses

* Herd numbers are adjusted to correspond with decrease in herd management area boundaries

due to added lands to Death Valley National Park. For example, about 70 % of the Lee Flat

HMA is now within Death Valley National Park; therefore 30% of the former herd size (30 animals) equals the revised BLM herd management level, nine animals in this case (.30 x 30 = 9).

** BLM estimates includes animals on BLM and on adjacent NPS lands.

*** Actual percentage of herd management area now within Death Valley National Park.

TABLE 3: BURRO AND WILD HORSE POPULATION DATA

Horses Burros

BLM’s desertwide pre-California Dessert Protection Act

herd management levels

267 843

Post-CDPA herd management levels (does not include

burros and horses on NPS land)

247 307

Actual estimated California desert population* 411 2,343

* BLM 1996 population estimates

Desert
81

TABLE 4: DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK ANNUAL VISITATION

Year 1985 1990 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000

Visitation 576,400 691,000 1,109,400 1,222,762 1,222,848 1,273,830 1,222,980

TABLE 5: DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK VISITOR ACTIVITIES

Activities

July 1990

Visitor Survey

March 1994

Backcountry

Survey

September 1996

Visitor Survey

Viewing the scenery 96% 97% 96%

Took photographs 91% NA 92%

Day hiked on trails 74%

Day hiked cross-county NA 33%

Day Hiked <2 hours 32% 42%

Day Hiked >2 hours 5% 7%

Visits to mine or historic sites 37% 73% 37%

Toured Scotty’s Castle 18%

Picnicked NA 45%

Went Shopping 50% NA

Car camped overnight 23%

Drove on dirt road in non 4x4 vehicle 45% 26%

Drove on dirt road in 4x4 vehicle 44% 6%

Rode bike on dirt road 10%

Blank cells indicate that no information was available on this topic for that particular survey.

TABLE 6: DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK VISITOR PROFILE

Visitor Profile

July 1990 Visitor

Survey

March 1994

Backcountry Survey

September 1996 Visitor

Survey

California Resident 21% 59% 32%

Foreign Country 72% 9% 69%

Repeat visitor 19% 56% 18%

First time visitor 82% 44% 82%

Average age 41 years 43 years 43 years

Average length of stay 72% stayed less than 1

day

48% stayed 2–3 days 66% stayed less than 1

day

Tables
82

TABLE 7: AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC LEVELS (1995)

State Highway Peak Hour * Peak Month Annual

Average

Route 127, San Bernardino/Inyo County line 110 660 550

Route 178, between Junction 127 and Stateline 95 890 750

Route 190, junction of Route 136 east of Owens

Lake

110 950 550

Route 190, Death Valley Junction 120 860 680

*Peak hour is the hour during which the heaviest volume of traffic occurs on a roadway.

TABLE 8: PROPOSED ACTION COST SUMMARY

Proposed Activity

Gross

Construction

Costs

Pre-Design Costs

& Supplemental

Services

Design Costs Total Project

Costs

Phase

Remove feral burros (approx. 400 animals @

$1000/burro); fencing approx. 50 miles;

census every 3-5 years @ $40,000/census

N/A N/A N/A $400,000;

$1,800,000;

$40,000

I

Site improvements at multiple sites to protect

resources (fences, boardwalks, wayside

exhibits, vault toilets)

$1,060,000 $60,000 $90,000 $1,210,000 I

New wayside exhibits (total project cost) N/A N/A N/A $200,000 I

Furnace Creek visitor center rehabilitation $4,720,000 $280,000 $400,000 $5,400,000 I

Develop office space in Beatty for 15-30

employees

N/A N/A N/A $100,000 I

New displays for information stations at

Stovepipe/Beatty/Shoshone

$175,000 $10,000 $15,000 $200,000 I

Entrance stations & reception centers

(displays, parking, kiosks, walkways) on east

and west 190

$1,000,000 $200,000 $200,000 $1,400,000 I

Campground redesign and improvements

(Sunset, Furnace Creek, Texas)

$1,600,000 $100,000 $100,000 $1,800,000 I

Saline Valley Site Management Plan (planning

and compliance)

N/A N/A N/A $200,000 I

Grapevine Development Concept Plan

(housing, roads, community center, RV pads,

maintenance and curation buildings,

water/sewer system)

$5,900,000 $350,000 $500,000 $6,750,000 II

Scotty's Castle historic studies and landscape

reports; development concept plan

N/A N/A N/A $500,000 I

Stovepipe Development Concept Plan

(convert paved airstrip to gravel, redesign old

campground, landscape)

$472,000 $28,000 $40,000 $540,000 I

Wildrose Development Concept Plan

(planning and compliance)

N/A N/A N/A $250,000 I

Backcountry campsite improvements (fire

rings, tables)

$130,000 $8,000 $11,000 $149,000 II

Restoration of abandoned mine sites

(estimated 300 sites at $15,000 each)

$5,310,000 $315,000 $450,000 $6,075,000 III

TOTALS $20,367,000 $1,351,000 $1,806,000 $27,014,000
83

A. California Desert Protection Act

B. Timbisha Shoshone Homeland Act

C. Record of Decision

D. Northern and Eastern Mojave Project Time Line

Appendixes
84

APPENDIX A: CALIFORNIA DESERT PROTECTION ACT

(PUBLIC LAW 103-433)

Sections Relevant to Death Valley National Park

One Hundred Third Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twenty-fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-four

An Act

To designate certain lands in the California Desert as wilderness, to establish the Death Valley and

Joshua Tree National Parks, to establish the Mojave National Preserve, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress

assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

Sections 1 and 2, and titles I through IX of this Act may be cited as the "California Desert Protection

Act of 1994".

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

(a) The Congress finds and declares that--

(1) the federally owned desert lands of southern California constitute a public wildland

resource of extraordinary and inestimable value for this and future generations;

(2) these desert wildlands display unique scenic, historical, archeological, environmental, ecological, wildlife, cultural, scientific, educational, and recreational values used and enjoyed by

millions of Americans for hiking and camping, scientific study and scenic appreciation;

(3) the public land resources of the California desert now face and are increasingly threatened

by adverse pressures which would impair, dilute, and destroy their public and natural values;

(4) the California desert, embracing wilderness lands, units of the National Park System, other

Federal lands, State parks and other State lands, and private lands, constitutes a cohesive unit

posing unique and difficult resource protection and management challenges;

(5) through designation of national monuments by Presidential proclamation, through enactment of general public land statutes (including section 601 of the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act of 1976, 90 Stat. 2743, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and through interim administrative actions, the Federal Government has begun the process of appropriately providing for

protection of the significant resources of the public lands in the California desert; and

(6) statutory land unit designations are needed to afford the full protection which the

resources and public land values of the California desert merit.

(b) In order to secure for the American people of this and future generations an enduring heritage of wilderness, national parks, and public land values in the California desert, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress that--

(1) appropriate public lands in the California desert shall be included within the National Park

System and the National Wilderness Preservation System, in order to--

(A) preserve unrivaled scenic, geologic, and wildlife values associated with these unique natural landscapes;

(B) perpetuate in their natural state significant and diverse ecosystems of the California desert;
85

(C) protect and preserve historical and cultural values of the California desert associated with

ancient Indian cultures, patterns of western exploration and settlement, and sites exemplifying the mining, ranching and railroading history of the Old West;

(D) provide opportunities for compatible outdoor public recreation, protect and interpret ecological and geological features and historic, paleontological, and archeological sites, maintain

wilderness resource values, and promote public understanding and appreciation of the

California desert; and

(E) retain and enhance opportunities for scientific research in undisturbed ecosystems.

TITLE III--DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

SEC. 301. FINDINGS.

The Congress hereby finds that-

(1) proclamations by Presidents Herbert Hoover in 1933 and Franklin Roosevelt in 1937 established and expanded the Death Valley National Monument for the preservation of the unusual features of scenic, scientific, and educational interest therein contained;

(2) Death Valley National Monument is today recognized as a major unit of the National Park

System, having extraordinary values enjoyed by millions of visitors;

(3) the monument boundaries established in the 1930's exclude and thereby expose to

incompatible development and inconsistent management, contiguous Federal lands of essential and superlative natural, ecological, geological, archeological, paleontological, cultural,

historical ad wilderness values;

(4) Death Valley National Monument should be substantially enlarged by the addition of all

contiguous Federal lands of national park caliber and afforded full recognition and statutory

protection as a National Park; and

(5) the wilderness within Death Valley should receive maximum statutory protection by designation pursuant to the Wilderness Act.

SEC. 302. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK.

There is hereby established the Death Valley National Park (hereinafter in this title referred to

as the "park") as generally depicted on twenty-three maps entitled "Death Valley National Park

Boundary and Wilderness-Proposed", numbered in the title one through twenty-three, and dated July

1993 or prior, which shall be on file and available for public inspection in the offices of the

Superintendent of the park and the Director of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

The Death Valley National Monument is hereby abolished as such, the lands and interests therein are

hereby incorporated within and made part of the new Death Valley National Park, and any funds available for purposes of the monument shall be available for purposes of the park.

SEC. 303. TRANSFER AND ADMINISTRATION OF LANDS.

Upon enactment of this title, the Secretary shall transfer the lands under the jurisdiction of

the Bureau of Land Management depicted in the maps described in section 302 of this title, without

consideration, to the administrative jurisdiction of the National Park Service for administration as part of

the National Park System, and the boundary of the park shall be adjusted accordingly. The Secretary shall

administer the areas added to the park by this title in accordance with the provisions of law generally

applicable to units of the National Park System, including the Act entitled "An Act to establish a National

Park Service, and for other purposes", approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1, 2-4).

SEC. 304. MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.

Within six months after the enactment of this title, the Secretary shall file maps and a legal

description of the park designated under this title with the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States

House of Representatives. Such maps and legal description shall have the same force and effect as if

included in this title, except that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in such legal

description and in the maps referred to in section 302. The maps and legal description shall be on file

and available for public inspection in the offices of the Superintendent of the park and the Director of

the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

Appendixes 

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SEC. 305. WITHDRAWAL.

Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal lands within the park are hereby withdrawn from all

forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; from location, entry, and patent

under the United States mining laws; and from disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and

geothermal leasing, and mineral materials, and all amendments thereto.

SEC. 306. GRAZING.

(a) IN GENERAL- The privilege of grazing domestic livestock on lands within the park shall continue to be exercised at no more than the current level, subject to applicable laws and National Park

Service regulations.

(b) SALE OF PROPERTY- If a person holding a grazing permit referred to in subsection (a)

informs the Secretary that such permittee is willing to convey to the United States any base property

with respect to which such permit was issued and to which such permittee holds title, the Secretary shall

make the acquisition of such base property a priority as compared with the acquisition of other lands

within the park, provided agreement can be reached concerning the terms and conditions of such

acquisition. Any such base property which is located outside the park and acquired as a priority pursuant to this section shall be managed by the Federal agency responsible for the majority of the adjacent lands in accordance with the laws applicable to such adjacent lands.

SEC. 307. DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK ADVISORY COMMISSION.

(a) The Secretary shall establish an Advisory Commission of no more than fifteen members, to

advise the Secretary concerning the development and implementation of a new or revised comprehensive management plan for Death Valley National Park.

(b)(1) The advisory commission shall include an elected official for each County within which

any part of the park is located, a representative of the owners of private properties located within or

immediately adjacent to the park, and other members representing persons actively engaged in grazing and range management, mineral exploration and development, and persons with expertise in relevant fields, including geology, biology, ecology, law enforcement, and the protection and management

of National Park resources and values.

(2) Vacancies in the advisory commission shall be filled by the Secretary so as to maintain the

full diversity of views required to be represented on the advisory commission.

(c) The Federal Advisory Committee Act shall apply to the procedures and activities of the advisory commission.

(d) The advisory commission shall cease to exist ten years after the date of its establishment.

SEC. 308. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.

In preparing the maps and legal descriptions required by sections 304 and 602 of this Act, the

Secretary shall adjust the boundaries of the Death Valley National Park and Death Valley National Park

Wilderness so as to exclude from such National Park and Wilderness the lands generally depicted on the

map entitled "Porter Mine (Panamint Range) Exclusion Area" dated June 1994.

TITLE V-MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE

(*The following section included under Title V is applicable to all wilderness areas and park units designated or enlarged by the CDPA.)

SEC. 519. NO ADVERSE AFFECT ON LAND UNTIL ACQUIRED.

Unless and until acquired by the United States, no lands within the boundaries of wilderness areas or

National Park System units designated or enlarged by this Act that are owned by any person or entity

other than the United States shall be subject to any of the rules or regulations applicable solely to the

Federal lands within such boundaries and may be used to the extent allowed by applicable law. Neither

the location of such lands within such boundaries nor the possible acquisition of such lands by the

United States shall constitute a bar to the otherwise lawful issuance of any Federal license or permit

other than a license or permit related to activities governed by 16 U.S.C. 460l-22(c). Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the applicability of any provision of the Mining in the Parks Act (16

U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), or regulations applicable to oil and gas

development as set forth in 36 CFR 9B.
87

TITLE VI--NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM WILDERNESS

SEC. 601. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS.

(a) In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act (78 Stat. 890; 16 U.S.C. 1311 et seq.),

the following lands within the units of the National Park System designated by this Act are hereby designated as wilderness, and therefore, as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System:

(1) Death Valley National Park Wilderness, comprising approximately three million one hundred fifty-eight thousand thirty-eight acres, as generally depicted on twenty-three maps entitled "Death

Valley National Park Boundary and Wilderness", numbered in the title one through twenty-three, and

dated October 1993 or prior, and three maps entitled "Death Valley National Park Wilderness", numbered in the title one through three, and dated July 1993 or prior, and which shall be known as the

Death Valley Wilderness.

(2) Joshua Tree National Park Wilderness Additions, comprising approximately one hundred

thirty-one thousand seven hundred and eighty acres, as generally depicted on four maps entitled

"Joshua Tree National Park Boundary and Wilderness-Proposed", numbered in the title one through

four, and dated October 1991 or prior, and which are hereby incorporated in, and which shall be

deemed to be a part of the Joshua Tree Wilderness as designated by Public Law 94-567.

(3) Mojave National Preserve Wilderness, comprising approximately six hundred ninety-five

thousand two hundred acres, as generally depicted on ten maps entitled "Mojave National Park

Boundary and Wilderness-Proposed", and numbered in the title one through ten, and dated March 1994

or prior, and seven maps entitled "Mojave National Park Wilderness-Proposed", numbered in the title

one through seven, and dated March 1994 or prior, and which shall be known as the Mojave Wilderness.

(b) POTENTIAL WILDERNESS- Upon cessation of all uses prohibited by the Wilderness Act and

publication by the Secretary in the Federal Register of notice of such cessation, potential wilderness,

comprising approximately six thousand eight hundred and forty acres, as described in "1988 Death

Valley National Monument Draft General Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statement"

(hereafter in this title referred to as "Draft Plan") and as generally depicted on map in the Draft Plan

entitled "Wilderness Plan Death Valley National Monument", dated January 1988, and which shall be

deemed to be a part of the Death Valley Wilderness as designated in paragraph (a)(1). Lands identified

in the Draft Plan as potential wilderness shall be managed by the Secretary insofar as practicable as

wilderness until such time as said lands are designated as wilderness.

SEC. 602. FILING OF MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS.

Maps and a legal description of the boundaries of the areas designated in section 601 of this

title shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park

Service, Department of the Interior. As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this title, maps

and legal descriptions of the wilderness areas shall be filed with the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States

House of Representatives, and such maps and legal descriptions shall have the same force and effect as

if included in this title, except that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in such

maps and legal descriptions.

SEC. 603. ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS.

The areas designated by section 601 of this title as wilderness shall be administered by the

Secretary in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Wilderness Act governing areas designated by that title as wilderness, except that any reference in such provision to the effective date of the

Wilderness Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the effective date of this title, and where appropriate, and reference to the Secretary of Agriculture shall be deemed to be a reference to the Secretary

of the Interior.

TITLE VII--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

SEC. 702. LAND TENURE ADJUSTMENTS.

In preparing land tenure adjustment decisions with the California Desert Conservation Area,

of the Bureau of Land Management, the Secretary shall give priority to consolidating Federal ownership

within the national park units and wilderness areas designated by this Act.

Appendixes 

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88

SEC. 703. LAND DISPOSAL.

Except as provided in section 406 of this Act, none of the lands within the boundaries of the

wilderness or park areas designated under this Act shall be granted to or otherwise made available for

use by the Metropolitan Water District or any other agencies or persons pursuant to the Boulder Canyon

Project Act (43 U.S.C. 617-619b) or any similar Acts.

SEC. 704. MANAGEMENT OF NEWLY ACQUIRED LANDS.

Any lands within the boundaries of a wilderness area designated under this Act which are

acquired by the Federal Government, shall become part of the wilderness area within which they are

located and shall be managed in accordance with all the provisions of this Act and other laws applicable to such wilderness area.

SEC. 705. NATIVE AMERICAN USES AND INTERESTS.

(a) ACCESS- In recognition of the past use of the National Park System units and wilderness

areas designed under this Act by Indian people for traditional cultural and religious purposes, the

Secretary shall ensure access to such park system units and wilderness areas by Indian people for such

traditional cultural and religious purposes. In implementing this section, the Secretary, upon the request

of an Indian tribe or Indian religious community, shall temporarily close to the general public use of one

or more specific portions of the park system unit or wilderness area in order to protect the privacy of

traditional cultural and religious activities in such areas by Indian people. Any such closure shall be made

to affect the smallest practicable area for the minimum period necessary for such purposes. Such access

shall be consistent with the purpose and intent of Public Law 95-341 (42 U.S.C. 1996) commonly

referred to as the "American Indian Religious Freedom Act", and with respect to areas designated as

wilderness, the Wilderness Act (78 Stat. 890; 16 U.S.C. 1131).

(b) STUDY- (1) The Secretary, in consultation with the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe and relevant

Federal agencies, shall conduct a study, subject to the availability of appropriations, to identify lands

suitable for a reservation for the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe that are located within the Tribe's aboriginal

homeland area within and outside the boundaries of the Death Valley National Monument and the

Death Valley National Park, as described in title III of this Act.

(2) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this title, the Secretary shall submit a

report to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Indian Affairs of the

United States Senate, and the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of

Representatives on the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1).

SEC. 706. FEDERAL RESERVED WATER RIGHTS.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in section 204 of this Act, with respect to each wilderness area

designated by this Act, Congress hereby reserves a quantity of water sufficient to fulfill the purposes of

this Act. The priority date of such reserved water rights shall be the date of enactment of this Act.

(b) The Secretary and all other officers of the United States shall take all steps necessary to

protect the rights reserved by this section, including the filing by the Secretary of a claim for the quantification of such rights in any present or future appropriate stream adjudication in the courts of the

State of California in which the United States is or may be joined in accordance with section 208 of the

Act of July 10, 1952 (66 Stat. 560, 43 U.S.C. 666), commonly referred to as the McCarran Amendment.

(c) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as a relinquishment or reduction of any water rights

reserved or appropriated by the United States in the State of California on or before the date of enactment of this Act.

(d) The Federal water rights reserved by this Act are specific to the wilderness area located in

the State of California designated under this Act. Nothing in this Act related to the reserved Federal

water rights shall be construed as establishing a precedent with regard to any future designations, nor

shall it constitute an interpretation of any other Act or any designation made thereto.

SEC. 707. CALIFORNIA STATE SCHOOL LANDS.

(a) NEGOTIATIONS TO EXCHANGE- Upon request of the California State Lands Commission

(hereinafter in this section referred to as the "Commission"), the Secretary shall enter into negotiations

for an agreement to exchange Federal lands or interests therein on the list referred to in subsection

(b)(2) for California State School lands or interests therein which are located within the boundaries of
89

one or more of the wilderness areas or park system units designated by this Act (hereinafter in this section referred to as "State School lands."). The Secretary shall negotiate in good faith to reach a land

exchange agreement consistent with the requirements of section 206 of the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act of 1976.

(b) PREPARATION OF LIST- Within six months after the date of enactment of this Act, the

Secretary shall send to the Commission and to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the

United States Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of

Representatives a list of the following:

(1) State School lands or interests therein (including mineral interests) which are located within the boundaries of the wilderness areas or park system units designated by this Act.

(2) Lands within the State of California under the jurisdiction of the Secretary that the

Secretary determines to be suitable for disposal for exchange, identified in the following priority--

(A) lands with mineral interests, including geothermal, which have the potential for commercial

development but which are not currently under mineral lease or producing Federal mineral revenues;

(B) Federal claims in California managed by the Bureau of Reclamation that the Secretary

determines are not needed for any Bureau of Reclamation project; and

(C) any public lands in California that the Secretary, pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act of 1976, has determined to be suitable for disposal through exchange.

(3) Any other Federal land, or interest therein, within the State of California, which is or

becomes surplus to the needs of the Federal Government. The Secretary may exclude, in the Secretary's

discretion, lands located within, or contiguous to, the exterior boundaries of lands held in trust for a

federally recognized Indian tribe located in the State of California.

(4) The Secretary shall maintain such list and shall annually transmit such list to the Committee

on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources

of the United States House of Representatives until all of the State School lands identified in paragraph

(1) have been acquired.

(c) DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS FEDERAL PROPERTY- (1) Effective upon the date of enactment of

this title and until all State School lands identified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section are acquired, no

Federal lands or interests therein within the State of California may be disposed of from Federal ownership unless--

(A) the Secretary is notified of the availability of such lands or interest therein;

(B) the Secretary has notified the Commission of the availability of such lands or interests

therein for exchange; and

(C) the Commission has not notified the Secretary within six months that it wishes to consider entering into an exchange for such lands or interests therein.

(2) If the Commission notifies the Secretary that it wishes to consider an exchange for such

lands or interests therein, the Secretary shall attempt to conclude such exchange in accordance with the

provisions of this section as quickly as possible.

(3) If an agreement is reached and executed with the Commission, then upon notice to the

head of the agency having administrative jurisdiction over such lands or interests therein, the Secretary

shall be vested with administrative jurisdiction over such land or interests therein for the purpose of

concluding such exchange.

(4) Upon the acquisition of all State School lands or upon notice by the Commission to the

Secretary that it no longer has an interest in such lands or interests therein, such lands or interests shall

be released to the agency that originally had jurisdiction over such lands or interests for disposal in

accordance with the laws otherwise applicable to such lands or interests.

(d) NO EFFECT ON MILITARY BASE CLOSURES- The provisions of this section shall not apply to

the disposal of property under title II of the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and

Realignment Act (Public Law 100-526; 102 Stat. 2627; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note) or the Defense Base

Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-510; 104 Stat. 1808; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note).

SEC. 708. ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.

The Secretary shall provide adequate access to nonfederally owned land or interests in land

within the boundaries of the conservation units and wilderness areas designated by this Act which will

provide the owner of such land or interest the reasonable use and enjoyment thereof.

SEC. 709. FEDERAL FACILITIES FEE EQUITY.

(a) POLICY STATEMENT- It is the intent of Congress that entrance, tourism or recreational use

fees for use of Federal lands and facilities not discriminate against any State or any region of the country.

Appendixes 

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90

(b) FEE STUDY- The Secretary, in cooperation with other affected agencies, shall prepare and

submit a report by May 1, 1996 to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States

Senate, the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of Representatives, and any

other relevant committees, which shall--

(1) identify all Federal lands and facilities that provide recreational or tourism use; and

(2) analyze by State and region any fees charged for entrance, recreational or tourism use, if

any, on Federal lands or facilities in a State or region, individually and collectively.

(c) RECOMMENDATIONS- Following completion of the report in subsection (b), the Secretary,

in cooperation with other affected agencies, shall prepare and submit a report by May 1, 1997 to the

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate, the Committee on Natural

Resources of the United States House of Representatives, and any other relevant committees, which

shall contain recommendations which the Secretary deems appropriate for implementing the congressional intent outlined in subsection (a).

SEC. 710. LAND APPRAISAL.

Lands and interests in lands acquired pursuant to this Act shall be appraised without regard

to the presence of a species listed as threatened or endangered pursuant to the Endangered Species

Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

SEC. 711. DEFINITION.

Any reference to the term "this Act" in titles I through IX shall be deemed to be solely a reference to sections 1 and 2, and titles I through IX.

TITLE VIII--MILITARY LANDS AND OVERFLIGHTS

SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE AND FINDINGS.

(a) SHORT TITLE- This title may be cited as the "California Military Lands Withdrawal and

Overflights Act of 1994".

(b) FINDINGS- The Congress finds that--

(1) military aircraft testing and training activities as well as demilitarization activities in

California are an important part of the national defense system of the United States, and are essential

in order to secure for the American people of this and future generations an enduring and viable

national defense system;

(2) the National Park System units and wilderness areas designated by this Act lie within a

region critical to providing training, research, and development for the Armed Forces of the United

States and its allies;

(3) there is a lack of alternative sites available for these military training, testing, and research

activities;

(4) continued use of the lands and airspace in the California desert region is essential for military purposes; and

(5) continuation of these military activities, under appropriate terms and conditions, is not

incompatible with the protection and proper management of the natural, environmental, cultural, and

other resources and values of the Federal lands in the California desert area.

SEC. 802. MILITARY OVERFLIGHTS.

(a) OVERFLIGHTS- Nothing in this Act, the Wilderness Act, or other land management laws

generally applicable to the new units of the National Park or Wilderness Preservation Systems (or any

additions to existing units) designated by this Act, shall restrict or preclude low-level overflights of military aircraft over such units, including military overflights that can be seen or heard within such units.

(b) SPECIAL AIRSPACE- Nothing in this Act, the Wilderness Act, or other land management

laws generally applicable to the new units of the National Park or Wilderness Preservation Systems (or

any additions to existing units) designated by this Act, shall restrict or preclude the designation of new

units of special airspace or the use or establishment of military flight training routes over such new park

system or wilderness units.

(c) NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS- Nothing in this section shall be construed to modify, expand,

or diminish any authority under other Federal law.
91

TITLE IX--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 901. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There is authorized to be appropriated to the National Park Service and to the Bureau of Land

Management to carry out this Act an amount not to exceed $36,000,000 over and above that provided in fiscal year 1994 for additional administrative and construction costs over the fiscal year 1995-1999

period, and $300,000,000 for all land acquisition costs. No funds in excess of these amounts may be

used for construction, administration, or land acquisition authorized under this Act without a specific

authorization in an Act of Congress enacted after the date of enactment of this Act.

Appendixes 

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APPENDIX B: TIMBISHA SHOSHONE HOMELAND ACT 

(P.L. 106-423)

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the twenty-fourth day of

January, two thousand 

An Act

To provide to the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe a permanent land base within its aboriginal homeland,

and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in

Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the "Timbisha Shoshone Homeland Act".

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) Since time immemorial, the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe has lived in portions of California

and Nevada. The Tribe's ancestral homeland includes the area that now comprises Death

Valley National Park and other areas of California and Nevada now administered by the

Bureau of Land Management.

(2) Since 1936, the Tribe has lived and governed the affairs of the Tribe on approximately 40

acres of land near Furnace Creek in the Park.

(3) The Tribe achieved Federal recognition in 1983 but does not have a land base within the

Tribe's ancestral homeland.

(4) Since the Tribe commenced use and occupancy of the Furnace Creek area, the Tribe's

membership has grown. Tribal members have a desire and need for housing, government

and administrative facilities, cultural facilities, and sustainable economic development to provide decent, safe, and healthy conditions for themselves and their families.

(5) The interests of both the Tribe and the National Park Service would be enhanced by recognizing their coexistence on the same land and by establishing partnerships for compatible

land uses and for the interpretation of the Tribe's history and culture for visitors to the Park.

(6) The interests of both the Tribe and the United States would be enhanced by the establishment of a land base for the Tribe and by further delineation of the rights and obligations of

each with respect to the Furnace Creek area and to the Park as a whole.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

Consistent with the recommendations of the report required by section 705(b) of the California
93

Desert Protection Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-433; 108 Stat. 4498), the purposes of this Act

are--

(1) to provide in trust to the Tribe land on which the Tribe can live permanently and govern

the Tribe's affairs in a modern community within the ancestral homeland of the Tribe outside

and within the Park;

(2) to formally recognize the contributions by the Tribe to the history, culture, and ecology of

the Park and surrounding area;

(3) to ensure that the resources within the Park are protected and enhanced by--

(A) cooperative activities within the Tribe's ancestral homeland; and

(B) partnerships between the Tribe and the National Park Service and partnerships involving the Bureau of Land Management;

(4) to ensure that such activities are not in derogation of the purposes and values for which

the Park was established;

(5) to provide opportunities for a richer visitor experience at the Park through direct interactions between visitors and the Tribe including guided tours, interpretation, and the establishment of a tribal museum and cultural center;

(6) to provide appropriate opportunities for economically viable and ecologically sustainable

visitor-related development, by the Tribe within the Park, that is not in derogation of the purposes and values for which the Park was established; and

(7) to provide trust lands for the Tribe in 4 separate parcels of land that is now managed by

the Bureau of Land Management and authorize the purchase of 2 parcels now held in private

ownership to be taken into trust for the Tribe.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) PARK- The term "Park" means Death Valley National Park, including any additions to that

Park.

(2) SECRETARY- The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior or the designee of

the Secretary.

(3) TRIBAL- The term "tribal" means of or pertaining to the Tribe.

(4) TRIBE- The term "Tribe" means the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, a tribe of American Indians

recognized by the United States pursuant to part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations

(or any corresponding similar regulation or ruling).

(5) TRUST LANDS- The term "trust lands" means those lands taken into trust pursuant to this

Act.

SEC. 5. TRIBAL RIGHTS AND AUTHORITY ON THE TIMBISHA SHOSHONE HOMELAND.

(a) IN GENERAL- Subject to valid existing rights (existing on the date of enactment of this Act), all

right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the lands, including improvements and

appurtenances, described in subsection (b) are declared to be held in trust by the United States

for the benefit of the Tribe. All maps referred to in subsection (b) shall be on file and available for

public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land

Management.

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 Timbisha Shoshone Homeland Act
94

(1) IN GENERAL- The following lands and water shall be held in trust for the Tribe pursuant to

subsection (a):

(A) Furnace Creek, Death Valley National Park, California, an area of 313.99 acres for community development, residential development, historic restoration, and visitor-related economic development, depicted as Tract 37 on the map of Township 27 North, Range 1 East,

of the San Bernardino Meridian, California, numbered Map #1 and dated December 2,

1999, together with 92 acre feet per annum of surface and ground water for the purposes

associated with the transfer of such lands. This area shall include a 25-acre, nondevelopment zone at the north end of the area and an Adobe Restoration zone containing several

historic adobe homes, which shall be managed by the Tribe as a tribal historic district.

(B) Death Valley Junction, California, an area of approximately 1,000 acres, as generally

depicted on the map entitled "Death Valley Junction, California", numbered Map #2 and

dated April 12, 2000, together with 15.1 acre feet per annum of ground water for the purposes associated with the transfer of such lands.

(C)(i) Centennial, California, an area of approximately 640 acres, as generally depicted on

the map entitled "Centennial, California", numbered Map #3 and dated April 12, 2000,

together with an amount of ground water not to exceed 10 acre feet per annum for the

purposes associated with the transfer of such lands.

(ii) If the Secretary determines that there is insufficient ground water available on the lands

described in clause (i) to satisfy the Tribe's right to ground water to fulfill the purposes

associated with the transfer of such lands, then the Tribe and the Secretary shall, within 2

years of such determination, identify approximately 640 acres of land that are administered

by the Bureau of Land Management in that portion of Inyo County, California, to the north

and east of the China Lake Naval Weapons Center, to be a mutually agreed upon substitute for the lands described in clause (i). If the Secretary determines that sufficient water is

available to fulfill the purposes associated with the transfer of the lands described in the

preceding sentence, then the Tribe shall request that the Secretary accept such lands into

trust for the benefit of the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, and the Secretary shall accept such

lands, together with an amount of water not to exceed 10 acre feet per annum, into trust

for the Tribe as a substitute for the lands described in clause (i).

(D) Scotty's Junction, Nevada, an area of approximately 2,800 acres, as generally depicted

on the map entitled "Scotty's Junction, Nevada", numbered Map #4 and dated April 12,

2000, together with 375.5 acre feet per annum of ground water for the purposes associated with the transfer of such lands.

(E) Lida, Nevada, Community Parcel, an area of approximately 3,000 acres, as generally

depicted on the map entitled "Lida, Nevada, Community Parcel", numbered Map #5 and

dated April 12, 2000, together with 14.7 acre feet per annum of ground water for the purposes associated with the transfer of such lands.

(2) WATER RIGHTS- The priority date of the Federal water rights described in subparagraphs (A)

through (E) of paragraph (1) shall be the date of enactment of this Act, and such Federal water

rights shall be junior to Federal and State water rights existing on such date of enactment. Such

Federal water rights shall not be subject to relinquishment, forfeiture or abandonment.

(3) LIMITATIONS ON FURNACE CREEK AREA DEVELOPMENT-

(A) DEVELOPMENT- Recognizing the mutual interests and responsibilities of the Tribe and

the National Park Service in and for the conservation and protection of the resources in the

area described in paragraph (1), development in the area shall be limited to--

(i) for purposes of community and residential development--

(I) a maximum of 50 single-family residences; and

(II) a tribal community center with space for tribal offices, recreation facilities, a
95

multipurpose room and kitchen, and senior and youth facilities;

(ii) for purposes of economic development--

(I) a small-to-moderate desert inn; and

(II) a tribal museum and cultural center with a gift shop; and

(iii) the infrastructure necessary to support the level of development described in clauses (i) and (ii).

(B) EXCEPTION- Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A)(ii), the National Park

Service and the Tribe are authorized to negotiate mutually agreed upon, visitor-related economic development in lieu of the development set forth in that subparagraph if such alternative development will have no greater environmental impact than the development set

forth in that subparagraph.

(C) RIGHT-OF-WAY- The Tribe shall have a right-of-way for ingress and egress on Highway

190 in California.

(4) LIMITATIONS ON IMPACT ON MINING CLAIMS- Nothing in this Act shall be construed as

terminating any valid mining claim existing on the date of enactment of this Act on the land

described in paragraph (1)(E). Any person with such an existing mining claim shall have all the

rights incident to mining claims, including the rights of ingress and egress on the land

described in paragraph (1)(E). Any person with such an existing mining claim shall have the

right to occupy and use so much of the surface of the land as is required for all purposes reasonably necessary to mine and remove the minerals from the land, including the removal of

timber for mining purposes. Such a mining claim shall terminate when the claim is determined

to be invalid or is abandoned.

(c) LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the

Secretary shall file a legal description of the areas described in subsection (b) with the Committee

on Resources of the House of Representatives and with the Committee on Indian Affairs and the

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. Such legal description shall have the

same force and effect as if the information contained in the description were included in that

subsection except that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in such legal

description and in the maps referred to in the legal description. The legal description shall be on

file and available for public inspection in the offices of the National Park Service and the Bureau

of Land Management.

(d) ADDITIONAL TRUST RESOURCES- The Secretary may purchase from willing sellers the following parcels and appurtenant water rights, or the water rights separately, to be taken into trust for

the Tribe:

(1) Indian Rancheria Site, California, an area of approximately 120 acres, as generally depicted

on the map entitled "Indian Rancheria Site, California" numbered Map #6 and dated

December 3, 1999.

(2) Lida Ranch, Nevada, an area of approximately 2,340 acres, as generally depicted on the

map entitled "Lida Ranch" numbered Map #7 and dated April 6, 2000, or another parcel

mutually agreed upon by the Secretary and the Tribe.

(e) SPECIAL USE AREAS-

(1) IN GENERAL- The areas described in this subsection shall be nonexclusive special use areas

for the Tribe, subject to other Federal law. Members of the Tribe are authorized to use these

areas for low impact, ecologically sustainable, traditional practices pursuant to a jointly established management plan mutually agreed upon by the Tribe, and by the National Park Service

or the Bureau of Land Management, as appropriate. All maps referred to in paragraph (4) shall

be on file and available for public inspection in the offices of the National Park Service and

Bureau of Land Management.

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96

(2) RECOGNITION OF THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE TRIBE- In the special use areas, in

recognition of the significant contributions the Tribe has made to the history, ecology, and culture of the Park and to ensure that the visitor experience in the Park will be enhanced by the

increased and continued presence of the Tribe, the Secretary shall permit the Tribe's continued

use of Park resources for traditional tribal purposes, practices, and activities.

(3) RESOURCE USE BY THE TRIBE- In the special use areas, any use of Park resources by the

Tribe for traditional purposes, practices, and activities shall not include the taking of wildlife and

shall not be in derogation of purposes and values for which the Park was established.

(4) SPECIFIC AREAS- The following areas are designated special use areas pursuant to paragraph (1):

(A) MESQUITE USE AREA- The area generally depicted on the map entitled "Mesquite Use

Area" numbered Map #8 and dated April 12, 2000. The Tribe may use this area for processing mesquite using traditional plant management techniques such as thinning, pruning, harvesting, removing excess sand, and removing exotic species. The National Park

Service may limit and condition, but not prohibit entirely, public use of this area or parts of

this area, in consultation with the Tribe. This area shall be managed in accordance with the

jointly established management plan referred to in paragraph (1).

(B) BUFFER AREA- An area of approximately 1,500 acres, as generally depicted on the map

entitled "Buffer Area" numbered Map #8 and dated April 12, 2000. The National Park

Service shall restrict visitor use of this area to protect the privacy of the Tribe and to provide

an opportunity for the Tribe to conduct community affairs without undue disruption from

the public.

(C) TIMBISHA SHOSHONE NATURAL AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION AREA- An area that

primarily consists of Park lands and also a small portion of Bureau of Land Management

land in California, as generally depicted on the map entitled "Timbisha Shoshone Natural

and Cultural Preservation Area" numbered Map #9 and dated April 12, 2000.

(5) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS- With respect to the Timbisha Shoshone Natural and Cultural

Preservation Area designated in paragraph (4)(C)--

(A) the Tribe may establish and maintain a tribal resource management field office, garage,

and storage area, all within the area of the existing ranger station at Wildrose (existing as

of the date of enactment of this Act);

(B) the Tribe also may use traditional camps for tribal members at Wildrose and Hunter

Mountain in accordance with the jointly established management plan referred to in paragraph (1);

(C) the area shall be depicted on maps of the Park and Bureau of Land Management that

are provided for general visitor use;

(D) the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management shall accommodate

access by the Tribe to and use by the Tribe of--

(i) the area (including portions described in subparagraph (E)) for traditional cultural

and religious activities, in a manner consistent with the purpose and intent of Public

Law 95-341 (commonly known as the "American Indian Religious Freedom Act") (42

U.S.C. 1996 et seq.); and

(ii) areas designated as wilderness (including portions described in subparagraph (E)), in

a manner consistent with the purpose and intent of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C.

1131 et seq.); and

(E)(i) on the request of the Tribe, the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land

Management shall temporarily close to the general public, 1 or more specific portions of

the area in order to protect the privacy of tribal members engaging in traditional cultural
97

and religious activities in those portions; and

(ii) any such closure shall be made in a manner that affects the smallest practicable area for

the minimum period necessary for the purposes described in clause (i).

(f) ACCESS AND USE- Members of the Tribe shall have the right to enter and use the Park without payment of any fee for admission into the Park.

(g) ADMINISTRATION- The trust lands shall constitute the Timbisha Shoshone Reservation and

shall be administered pursuant to the laws and regulations applicable to other Indian trust lands,

except as otherwise provided in this Act.

SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS.

(a) GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT AGREEMENTS- In order to fulfill the purposes of this Act

and to establish cooperative partnerships for purposes of this Act, the National Park Service, the

Bureau of Land Management, and the Tribe shall enter into government-to-government consultations and shall develop protocols to review planned development in the Park. The National

Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management are authorized to enter into cooperative

agreements with the Tribe for the purpose of providing training on the interpretation, management, protection, and preservation of the natural and cultural resources of the areas designated

for special uses by the Tribe in section 5(e)(4).

(b) STANDARDS- The National Park Service and the Tribe shall develop mutually agreed upon

standards for size, impact, and design for use in planning, resource protection, and development of the Furnace Creek area and for the facilities at Wildrose. The standards shall be based

on standards for recognized best practices for environmental sustainability and shall not be less

restrictive than the environmental standards applied within the National Park System at any given

time. Development in the area shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the standards,

which shall be reviewed periodically and revised as necessary.

Appendixes 

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98

Appendix C. Record of Decision

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

RECORD OF DECISION

GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

ABBREVIATED FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

Death Valley National Park

California/Nevada

The Department of the Interior, National Park Service, has prepared this Record of Decision on the Final

General Management Plan/Abbreviated Final Environmental Impact Statement for Death Valley

National Park. This Record of Decision includes a description of the background of the planning effort,

a description of the decision made, synopses of other alternatives considered, the basis for the decision, findings on impairment of park resources and values, a description of the environmentally preferable alternative, a listing of measures to minimize environmental harm, and an overview of public and

agency involvement in the decision-making process.

BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

The impetus for this planning effort was the passage of the California Desert Protection Act (CDPA) on

October 31, 1994. This act transferred over 3 million acres of the California desert from the Bureau of

Land Management (BLM) to the National Park Service (NPS) and designated nearly 8 million acres of

wilderness on NPS and BLM lands. In addition, the CDPA redesignated Death Valley and Joshua Tree

National Monuments as national parks and created Mojave National Preserve. Changes in the management of the public lands in the California desert, including listing of the desert tortoise, increasing

development, public use pressures, and passage of the California Desert Protection Act, caused NPS,

BLM, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) desert managers to address the anticipated changes in

management of these federal lands through the development of updated or new management plans.

The significant expansion of Death Valley National Park (formerly Monument) with 1.3 million additional acres and the designation of over 95% of the park's lands as legal wilderness created a clear

need for the development of a new general management plan (GMP) to update and replace a 1989

GMP written for the Monument. This general management plan will serve as the overall management

strategy for the next 10-15 years. The general management plan is the "blueprint" under which more

detailed activity or implementation plans are prepared. A general management plan is general rather

than specific in nature, and focuses on purposes of the unit, its significant attributes, the overall mission of the agency, what activities are appropriate within these constraints, and resource protection

strategies. It also provides guidelines for visitor use and development of facilities for visitor enjoyment

and administration of the park. The goal of the general management plan is to determine how best to

manage the unit to meet the Congressional intent as expressed in the CDPA and the mission of the

National Park Service. It was the stated intention of this planning effort to explore only alternatives that

would result in an implementable management plan for the park. Alternatives that would require legislation before they could be implemented, or are contrary to specific Congressional direction or

National Park Service regulations or policy, or require vast sums of funding to implement, would create

unreasonable expectations on the part of the public and would not serve the need of creating an implementable management plan for this unit. Therefore, only alternatives that explore the range of options

for managing uses mandated by Congress were evaluated.

The development of this general management plan began in 1995 with the selection of a planning team,

which was stationed at Mojave National Preserve headquarters in Barstow, California. The Notice of

Intent for this effort was published in the Federal Register on September 5, 1995, announcing the beginning of the planning process. The planning team conducted 20 public scoping meetings in September
99

1995 and April 1997 to gather public input on the management direction for the parks and BLM lands.

In addition, a number of agency scoping meetings were held. From this input and meetings with interested parties (such as county departments, special interest groups, state agencies, Native American

tribes, etc.) and discussions with NPS and BLM staff, proposed management plans were developed.

In September 1998 the first Death Valley National Park Draft Environmental Impact Statement / General

Management Plan (DEIS/GMP) was released for public review. Approximately 450 printed copies of the

DEIS / GMP were distributed for review. In addition, about 100 CD-ROMs were also sent. The entire

draft plan was also posted on the internet with links from the park's homepage and the Northern and

Eastern Mojave planning page. The notice of availability for the DEIS was published in the Federal

Register by the Environmental Protection Agency on September 11, 1998 (FR 48727). Written comments were accepted from September 11, 1998, through January 15, 1999, a period of 127 days.

Eleven public meetings were held in October 1998 throughout the planning region of southern

California and southern Nevada. In addition, the planning team attended and participated in numerous meetings of the Death Valley Advisory Commission to obtain their feedback, concerns, and direction regarding the development of the general management plan. Death Valley received approximately 600 comment letters from government agencies, tribes, interest groups, and individuals. In addition,

members of environmental groups (National Parks and Conservation Association, The Sierra Club, and

The Wilderness Society) sent in approximately 1,800 identical postcards. Several additional letters and

postcards were received after the closing date for public comments.

Due to the large number of substantial changes required as a result of public comment on the 1998

draft, the National Park Service decided to rewrite the draft document. In September 2000, a Revised

Draft Environmental Impact Statement / General Management Plan was released for 92 days of public

review. Responses to written public comments on the 1998 draft plan were addressed in a separately

bound report. A notice of availability was published in the Federal Register by the Environmental

Protection Agency on September 6, 2000 (FR 54062-54064). Eleven more public meetings on the

revised draft plan were held in southern California and southern Nevada during October and November

2000. During the public comment period, a total of 47 written comments were received. All substantive comments on the 1998 DEIS were addressed in a separate document that was made available concurrent with the revised DEIS/GMP.

After consideration of substantive public comments on the revised DEIS/GMP, the National Park Service

decided to prepare an Abbreviated Final Environmental Impact Statement / General Management Plan,

dated June 2001. The abbreviated format for the final environmental impact statement and general

management plan has been used because the changes to the revised draft document are minor and

confined primarily to factual corrections, which do not modify the analysis. Use of this format is in compliance with the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act regulations (40 CFR 1503.4[c]). This abbreviated format requires that the material in this document be integrated with the Revised Draft Environmental

Impact Statement / General Management Plan to describe the final plan, its alternatives, all significant

environmental impacts, and the public comments that have been received and evaluated.

DECISION (SELECTED ACTION) 

The National Park Service will implement Alternative 1, the proposed action, described in the Revised

Draft Environmental Impact Statement and General Management Plan, dated July 2000, as amended

by the Abbreviated Final Environmental Impact Statement and General Management Plan, dated June

2001. Following the signing of this Record of Decision, the NPS will print the final General

Management Plan as a stand-alone document, which will be used by park staff as a "blueprint" for

managing the park over the next 10-15 years. The selected alternative is the agency preferred alternative and the environmentally preferred alternative as documented in the Abbreviated Final

Environmental Impact Statement and General Management Plan, dated June 2001.

This proposed plan represents the best mix of actions, policies, and strategies for the management of

Death Valley National Park, given the varying mandates and diverse public opinion. The proposed general management plan envisions Death Valley National Park as a natural environment and a cultural

landscape (an arid ecosystem overlain by many layers of human occupation and use from prehistoric to

historic to the present time), where the protection of native desert ecosystems and processes is assured

for future generations. The protection and perpetuation of native species in a self-sustaining environment is a primary long-term goal. The plan seeks to manage the park to perpetuate the sense of discovery and adventure that currently exists. This means limiting new development inside the park. The

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100

management plan envisions adjacent "gateway" communities as providing increased support services

(food, gas, and lodging) for visitors. The plan also seeks to retain current opportunities for roadside

camping, backcountry camping, and access to the backcountry via existing primitive roads, consistent

with the NPS mission. The plan calls for extending the current park management strategies and policies

to the new park lands and putting in place the necessary planning and management components to

adequately address the wilderness designation of 95% of the park lands. The plan also fulfills the NPS

mission of resource preservation and provision of visitor services while achieving other mandates from

Congress. The proposal also states a goal of seeking funding to purchase private property within the

park from willing sellers. 

OTHER ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED

In addition to the proposal, other alternatives considered include existing management and an optional management approach. The existing management alternative (Alternative 2) describes the continuation of current management strategies. It is commonly referred to as the no-action or status quo

alternative. It provides a baseline from which to compare other alternatives, to evaluate the magnitude

of proposed changes, and to measure the environmental effects of those changes. This no action concept follows the guidance of the Council on Environmental Quality, which describes the No Action

Alternative as no change from the existing management direction or level of management intensity.

These actions are typically referred to as the status quo, or the No Action alternative (since this is what

would occur if the agency took no further action to adopt a new general management plan). It does

not mean that no agency management actions would be taken. Death Valley National Park would continue managing the park according to policies and strategies identified in the 1989 General

Management Plan. Other management practices would be accomplished according to applicable federal regulations, NPS servicewide management policies, and subject specific reference manuals and

guidelines (see Policy and Planning section).

Under the No Action alternative, the park would follow the existing 1983 Proposed Natural and Cultural

Resource Management Plan and Final EIS. Existing staff are now working on inventory and monitoring

of natural and cultural resources in all park lands according to the existing plan and NPS policies. This

work includes monitoring and inventorying cultural and natural resources, monitoring regional water

rights, addressing historic mining hazards, removing feral burros, preparing an annual strategic plan,

and monitoring air quality. Many of these resource actions in the new park lands are reactive to concerns that have arisen rather than part of an ongoing comprehensive program that is planned and funded. Existing visitor and administrative support services and facilities are being maintained in their current locations and several improvements to these facilities have been made (updated water systems,

new vault toilets, new picnic tables, etc.). There have been numerous infrastructure repairs and stabilizations to existing structures. Maintenance of the park roads in the new park lands has added a significant burden to the maintenance and visitor protection staff with little or no additional park funding.

No significant changes in existing recreation use would occur under this alternative. Efforts would continue to obtain funding for acquisition of property from willing sellers and for properties where development is potentially detrimental to the integrity of the park or otherwise incompatible with the CDPA.

The optional approach (Alternative 3) is similar to the proposed action, except as discussed below. This

alternative identifies the closing and restoration to a natural condition of the Chicken Strip airstrip at

Saline Valley. This action would adversely affect those people who visit the area by airplane. This alternative also proposes closing the historic Emigrant campground because of potential flood hazards. All

areas within the Eureka-Saline wilderness road corridor would be open for roadside camping.

Designated car camping sites would be established in the area of the Saline Valley warm springs. 

BASIS FOR DECISION

The proposed general management plan provides overall direction for the management of park resources,

facilities and development, and use of the Park. Alternative 1 presents a logical, systematic and proactive

approach to management of the Park in compliance with NPS laws, regulations and policies.

The rationale for selection of this alternative over the no action (Alternative 2) is based on the environmental impacts that would be lessened by seeking funds and implementing activities identified in the

proposed plan. Public opinion also helped formulate the NPS preferred approach over Alternative 3. In

particular, preserving the natural quiet and sounds associated with the physical and biological resources

of the park, management of wilderness for maximum statutory protection as afforded by the California
101

Desert Protection Act, the funding of the full removal of feral burros and interpretive information to

educate the public on desert ecosystems and protection measures were identified as key issues for the

park to address.

Protection and Enhancement of Natural and Cultural Resources

The proposed general management plan identifies proactive goals and strategies to inventory, document and, where possible, protect the air quality, visibility, night sky, and natural ambient sound. These

resources are key elements of the desert environment that are critical to an enjoyable visit to Death

Valley. The plan also strives to protect water resources and water rights by seeking to restore damaged

natural water sources and protect of groundwater. The plan also proposes to inventory, preserve, and

protect paleontological, geological, cave, and soil resources. Research would be encouraged to learn

means by which enhanced protection could be accomplished. These proactive strategies would also

yield valuable interpretive and scientific data. The plan also provides an extensive description of the NPS

responsibilities regarding cultural resource protection and management and lays out a thorough program to meet each of these responsibilities.

Alternative 1 provides a more proactive approach to perpetuate native plant life (such as vascular plants,

ferns, mosses, algae, fungi, and bacteria) as critical components of natural desert ecosystems. The plan

also proposes to inventory all native plants and wildlife and seeks to restore disturbed ecosystems,

enhance habitat for sensitive species, eliminate exotic species where feasible, and establish monitoring

programs to serve as early warning systems for health of the system. Two key components of the natural resource protection strategy include the removal of exotic feral burros and recovery strategies for the

Devils Hole pupfish and endangered and threatened species associated with the Eureka Dunes system.

Enhance Visitor Experience

Alternative 1 provides for enhanced interpretation of key subjects in Death Valley including geological

processes and geographical relationships; the historical, prehistoric, and Native American record; and

desert ecosystems. Certain cultural resource sites that are easily accessible and historically important

would be treated as significant interpretive stops for the visiting public. The park would continue to

seek additional ways to improve the living history program or other methods of interpreting Scottys

Castle. Working with the Timbisha tribe, the interpretation of prehistoric and contemporary Native

American cultures would be integrated into parkwide interpretive themes, focusing on human adaptation to the desert environment. To ensure the protection of especially fragile natural and cultural values, resource management specialists, interpretive planners, and designers would work together to

develop ways for visitors to see the resources without causing unacceptable damage.

Alternative 1 would emphasize providing interpretative and orientation information to visitors prior to their

arrival in the park through a variety of methods including informational kiosks and entrance stations at

key locations on the park's boundaries. The park would also emphasize contacts through the internet and

the park's website, brochures, satellite information centers, and other emerging technology.

The park will seek out and foster partnerships with local communities and interest groups to develop

support for the park and its mission. These partnerships should further outreach and education for the

park, lend support to resource initiatives, and generate funding for park needs such as renovation of

the outdated park visitor center.

Provide Effective Operations

Alternative 1 would support moving some administrative, resource management, and visitor services

out of the park to neighboring communities. This would not impact the limited resources and infrastructure within the park such as water, sewage, and other infrastructure already in place. Alternative

1 also supports the removal of trailers from the park and there would be no replacement of permanent

trailers for park housing within the park. The Northern Death Valley Implementation Plan would deal

with replacement of housing currently situated at Grapevine to an area outside of the park. This alternative supports the mission of the park and service rather than Alternative 2 which would continue to

locate administrative and operational functions within the park with associated development and

impact to park resources and lands. 

In summary, Alternative 1 includes the most actions that are major and beneficial to the natural

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102

resources of Death Valley more beneficial to cultural resources than other alternatives. This alternative

additionally provides the greatest opportunities for visitor enjoyment, appreciation, and learning opportunities regarding park resources. It is also the most responsive alternative to public input received during scoping and alternative development.

FINDINGS ON IMPAIRMENT OF PARK RESOURCES AND VALUES 

The National Park Service may not allow the impairment of park resources and values unless directly

and specifically provided for by legislation or by the proclamation establishing the park. Impairment

that is prohibited by the National Park Service Organic Act and the General Authorities Act is an impact

that, in the professional judgement of the responsible National Park Service manager, would harm the

integrity of park resources or values, including the opportunities that otherwise would be present for

the enjoyment of those resources or values. (NPS Management Policies 2001).

In determining whether impairment may occur, park managers consider the duration, severity, and

magnitude of the impact; the resources and values affected; and direct, indirect, and cumulative effects

of the action. According to National Park Service Policy, "An impact would be more likely to constitute

an impairment to the extent that it affects a resource or value whose conservation is: a) Necessary to

fulfill specific purposes identified in the establishing legislation or proclamation of the park; b) Key to

the natural or cultural integrity of the park or to opportunities for enjoyment of the park; or c) Identified

as a goal in the park's general management plan or other relevant National Park Service planning documents." (NPS Management Policies, 2001).

This policy does not prohibit impacts to park resources and values. The National Park Service has the

discretion to allow impacts to park resources and values when necessary and appropriate to fulfill the

purposes of a park, so long as the impacts do not constitute impairment. Moreover, an impact is less

likely to constitute impairment if it is an unavoidable result of an action necessary to preserve or restore

the integrity of park resources or values.

Human activity and past development have resulted in the ongoing disruption of natural systems and

processes in Death Valley National Park for generations. The No Action alternative would result in future

unplanned and uncoordinated actions that are merely reactive to immediate concerns. Furthermore,

these actions would likely be responsive to immediate, short-term, adverse impacts that demand attention, but may result in long term impairment to park values and resources. Thus, the ability of the public to experience, understand, appreciate, and enjoy Death Valley National Park could be impaired under

the No Action alternative.

The National Park Service has determined that implementation of Alternative 1 will not constitute an

impairment to Death Valley National Park's resources and values. This conclusion is based on a thorough analysis of the environmental impacts described in the Revised Draft EIS/GMP, the Abbreviated

Final EIS/GMP, the public comments received, relevant scientific studies, and the professional judgement

of the decision-maker guided by the direction in NPS Management Policies, section 1.4. While the plan

has some minor negative impacts, in all cases these adverse impacts are the result of proactive strategies intended to implement the NPS mission, policies, and regulations in the management of Death

Valley National Park. None of the proposals would result in impacts that would impair the integrity of

park resources or values, including opportunities that would otherwise be present for the enjoyment of

those resources or values. Overall, the plan results in major benefits to park resources and values and

opportunities for their enjoyment; it does not result in their impairment.

The actions comprising Alternative 1 will achieve the goals of the CDPA and NPS management policies

(which include protecting and enhancing the natural and cultural resources of Death Valley and providing opportunities for high-quality, resource-based visitor experiences) in a comprehensive, integrated manner that takes into account the interplay between resource protection and visitor use. Actions

implemented under Alternative 1 that would cause overall negligible adverse impacts, minor adverse

impacts, short term impacts, and beneficial impacts to park resources and values, as described in the

Revised Draft EIS/GMP and the Abbreviated Final EIS/GMP, will not constitute impairment. This is

because these impacts have limited severity and/or duration and will not result in appreciable irreversible

commitments of resources. Beneficial effects identified during the NEPA process include effects related to removal of exotic burros and protecting threatened park resources and values. Beneficial effects

do not constitute impairment.
103

The collective actions discussed in Alternative 1 are proposed as a means of managing Death Valley

National Park in a manner that would result in a protected native desert ecosystem that functions without interference from human activities, while allowing visitor use and Congressionally mandated

resource consumptive activities. While some of these activities may seem contrary to the NPS preservation mission (e.g. grazing, mining), Congress specifically provides for these activities (under NPS regulation) in Death Valley in the California Desert Protection Act. These activities may only be allowed subject to other applicable laws and regulations. This proposal outlines management strategies for these

activities, and others, that would be implemented to minimize potential impacts from these activities to

levels below the threshold of impairment. For example, all future mining operations would be required

to undergo NPS review and impact analysis under 36 CFR Part 9, Subpart A. A grazing management

plan would be developed to manage the one remaining cattle grazing permit so that park resources are

protected. The proposed actions included in this alternative would establish an overall management

approach that would allow activities to occur in the park without impairing the integrity of park

resources or values, including opportunities that would otherwise be present for the enjoyment of those

resources or values. 

In conclusion, the National Park Service has determined that the implementation of Alternative 1 will

not constitute impairment of park resources and values in Death Valley National Park.

ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE ALTERNATIVE

Environmentally preferable is defined as "the alternative that will promote the national environmental

policy as expressed in the National Environmental Policy Act's Section 101. Ordinarily, this means the

alternative that causes the least damage to the biological and physical environment; it also means the

alternative which best protects, preserves, and enhances historic, cultural, and natural resources" (Forty

Most Asked Questions Concerning Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy

Act Regulations, 1981).

The goals characterizing the environmentally preferable condition are described in Section 101 of the

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA Section 101 states that "...it is the continuing responsibility of the Federal Government to ... (1) fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as trustee of

the environment for succeeding generations; (2) assure for all Americans safe, healthful, productive,

and aesthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings; (3) attain the widest range of beneficial uses of

the environment without degradation, risk to health or safety, or other undesirable and unintended

consequences; (4) preserve important historic, cultural, and natural aspects of our national heritage,

and maintain, wherever possible, an environment which supports diversity, and variety of individual

choice; (5) achieve a balance between population and resource use which will permit high standards of

living and a wide sharing of life's amenities; and (6) enhance the quality of renewable resources and

approach the maximum attainable recycling of depletable resources." The environmentally preferable

alternative for the Death Valley National Park General Management Plan is based on these national

environmental policy goals.

Alternative 1

This alternative will realize each of the provisions of the national environmental policy goals stated in

NEPA Section 101. Alternative 1 will protect and enhance natural and cultural resources by laying out

strategies, planning, inventorying, and monitoring, and restoring disturbed ecosystems and historic

resources. These actions will further the goals of NEPA Section 101 by attaining the widest range of

beneficial uses of the environment without degradation, and by preserving important resources and

maintaining a variety of individual choice for visitors to Death Valley. Alternative 1 implements recovery measures for the threatened Devils Hole pupfish, protection and recovery measures for the Eureka

Dunes system and associated critical habitat, the protection of the desert tortoise, fully removes exotic

feral burros, and presents strategies for management of grazing and mining. Alternative 1 also best

reflects the expressed interests of the public in limiting development in Death Valley that would detract

from the setting and sense of self-discovery and adventure that currently exists. In aggregate, the environmental restoration and alternative elements and features of Alternative 1 will most fully attain the

goals outlined in NEPA Section 101.

Alternative 2

This alternative represents the current management direction with no dramatic or comprehensive

Appendixes 

 Record of Decision
104

changes taking place in the management of Death Valley National Park. Alternative 2 would not result

in the same level of environmental protection and restoration for natural and cultural resources as the

other alternatives. Management of the park without an overall strategy as in the other alternatives

would result in reactive management of natural and cultural resources, including highly valued sensitive

and nationally significant resources. Failing to be proactive may result in Alternative 2 not fully achieving provisions 1, 3, 4, and 5 of Section 101 of NEPA. Compared to the action alternatives, the No Action

alternative would be least effective in achieving the goals of NEPA, as described in Section 101, in that

it would have the narrowest range of beneficial uses that would occur without degradation of natural

and cultural resources in Death Valley.

Alternative 3

This alternative would be nearly as effective as Alternative 1 in realizing the provisions of the national

environmental policy goals in Section 101 of NEPA. The primary differences are in the removal and

restoration of the Chicken Strip airstrip in Saline Valley, the designation of campsites at Saline Valley,

and allowing roadside camping along the Eureka-Saline wilderness road corridor. These actions could

result in adverse impacts on archeological and ethnographic resources. Overall, the negative impacts

of selecting Alternative 3 would be slightly higher those described under Alternative 1.

Summary

The National Park Service has determined that the environmentally preferable alternative is Alternative

1. In aggregate, Alternative 1 best achieves the six conditions prescribed under Section 101 of NEPA.

While some of the actions in other alternatives may be similar to Alternative 1 in their effect and consequence, Alternative 1: (1) provides the highest level of protection of natural and cultural resources

while concurrently attaining the widest range of beneficial uses of the environment without degradation; (2) maintains an environment that supports diversity and variety of individual choice; and (3) integrates resource protection with opportunities for an appropriate range of visitor uses.

MEASURES TO MINIMIZE ENVIRONMENTAL HARM

The National Park Service has investigated all practical means to avoid or minimize environmental impacts

that could result from implementation of the selected action. The measures have been incorporated into

Alternative 1 and are presented in the Revised Draft EIS/GMP and Abbreviated Final EIS/GMP.

A consistent set of mitigation measures would be applied to actions that result from this plan (see

Appendix E in Revised DEIS/GMP). Monitoring and enforcement programs will oversee the implementation of mitigation measures. These programs will assure compliance monitoring, biological and cultural resource protection, traffic management, noise and dust abatement, noxious weed control, pollution prevention measures, visitor safety and education, and other mitigation measures. 

Mitigation measures will also be applied to future actions that are guided by this plan. In addition, the

National Park Service will prepare appropriate compliance reviews (i.e., National Environmental Policy

Act, Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and other relevant legislation) for these

future actions.

PUBLIC AND INTERAGENCY INVOLVEMENT

The Notice of Intent for this effort was published in the Federal Register (FR 46132) on September 5,

1995, announcing the beginning of the planning process. Throughout the planning process, the planning team gathered public input on issues, proposed actions, and alternatives. The scoping process

included meetings, public workshops, Advisory Commission meetings, newsletters, and the development of a homepage. These were used to identify the issues, alternatives, and impact topics to be considered for planning and to keep the public informed and involved throughout the planning process.

Scoping

The planning team conducted 20 public scoping meetings in September 1995 and April 1997 to gather public input on the management direction for the parks and BLM lands. In addition, a number of

agency scoping meetings were also held. From this input and meetings with interested parties (such as

county departments, special interest groups, state agencies, Native American tribes, etc.) and discussions with NPS and BLM staff, proposed management plans were developed. 
105

On August 31, 1995, a public notice describing the purpose of the planning effort was mailed to the

public, media, agencies, and other organizations on the Bureau of Land Management California Desert

District's mailing list (about 6,000 names). The schedule for the first round of public scoping meetings

was included in the notice. The formal public scoping period for the planning effort began with the

September 5, 1995, Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement. Public scoping

workshops were held from September 21 through 27, 1995, at 10 locations throughout the planning

area and in nearby areas where users live. These workshops were held in Pasadena, San Bernardino,

Barstow, Baker, Needles, Ridgecrest, Independence, Lone Pine, and Furnace Creek, California, and in

Las Vegas and Amargosa Valley, Nevada. About 250 people attended the workshops. These workshops

were used to identify issues and concerns that the team should address in preparing a management

plan for the area. 

Newsletters and Website

The first newsletter in February 1996 was sent to about 6,000 names on the Bureau of Land

Management mailing list for the California desert. It included a summary of planning issues identified

at the public meetings and statements of purpose and significance for Death Valley National Park,

Mojave National Preserve, and BLM-managed lands within the planning area. The original mailing list

was subsequently replaced with a planning project mailing list developed from agency lists and scoping

participation. 

In late April 1997, a second newsletter was sent out to about 500 names on the Northern and Eastern

Mojave Planning Effort mailing list to inform the public that there would be a second round of scoping

workshops to discuss alternatives. It contained a planning update, a schedule of alternative scoping

workshops, general descriptions of conceptual alternatives, and an outline of issues for which alternatives could be developed. The newsletter was also posted on the homepage. Both newsletters included a one-page mail-back form for receiving comments. A press release was mailed to local media in

and near the planning area. Some local newspapers and radio stations informed the public about the

workshops. The schedule for these workshops was included in this notice and on the Northern and

Eastern Mojave Planning Effort homepage. Ten public workshops were held from April 14 through 24,

1997 at Las Vegas, Nevada, and in Needles, Furnace Creek, Bishop, Lone Pine, Barstow, Pasadena, San

Bernardino, Baker, and Ridgecrest, California. Each workshop began with a 20-minute presentation

about the planning effort given by Northern and Eastern Mojave Planning Effort team leader Dennis

Schramm. After the presentation the team would set up three stations for natural and cultural

resources, land use, and visitor experience. At these stations, the team gathered comments and alternatives and wrote them down on the flipcharts. About 330 people attended the workshops.

In February 1997, a website for the three California desert planning efforts (West Mojave, Northern and

Eastern Colorado, and Northern and Eastern Mojave) went online on the BLM California server. It contained detailed information about each planning effort, background information about the Mojave

Desert and the desert tortoise, pertinent legislation and maps and photographs. In April 1998 the

Northern and Eastern Mojave Planning Effort homepage was moved to the NPS server so that the planning team would have direct access. The link to this homepage is posted on the internet at

www.nps.gov/moja/planning/nemo.htm.

A third newsletter was sent out to the public in April 1998 to update readers on the planning effort.

The newsletter explained that three separate draft environmental impact statements for each area

(Death Valley National Park, Mojave National Preserve, and the BLM public lands within the Northern

and Eastern Mojave planning area) would be produced instead of one comprehensive draft environmental impact statement. A revised planning schedule and comment form for receiving the documents

were also provided in the newsletter. This newsletter also served as the initial announcement that a

draft EIS/GMP would be released shortly and sought input from the list regarding preferences on receipt

of the draft document. The document was available in printed form, at public libraries and agency

offices, over the Internet, or on CD-ROM.

In August 2000, the fourth planning newsletter was sent to the planning mailing list (about 3,500)

announcing release of the revised draft EIS/GMP. This newsletter provided a list of locations and dates

for eleven scheduled public workshops and locations where the document could be viewed at public

libraries and agency offices. It also announced the intended 90-day public review period. This initial

review period was eventually extended to 127 days.

Appendixes 

 Record of Decision
106

In June 2001, the fifth planning newsletter was sent to the planning mailing list (about 3,600) announcing release of an Abbreviated Final EIS/GMP. This newsletter provided some background data on the

planning effort and other information about how to obtain copies of the document or where to view

it (online or at public libraries and agency offices). It also explained the 30-day no action period. 

Agency and Native American Consultation

An interagency meeting was held in Barstow, California on August 23, 1995, to discuss the issues to

be addressed in this planning effort. Forty-three staff attended the meeting from the National Park

Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The NPS sent a letter formally notifying the California and Nevada State Historic Preservation Officers

(SHPO) in April 1996 of the planning effort. A response letter offering suggestions was received from

the state historic preservation officer in May 1996. A planning team member met briefly with the state

historic preservation officer in June 1996 and offered a briefing on the planning effort. Participation by

the SHPO after that point was by comment letter. A final letter was sent to the SHPO on June 21, 2001

seeking their concurrence with the proposed action as expressed in the Abbreviated Final Environmental

Impact Statement/General Management Plan.

Following public alternative scoping workshops in April 1997, a two-day interagency meeting was held

in Barstow, California to discuss the alternatives and comments heard at the workshops. Twenty-eight

staff members from the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, the California State Parks, and San Bernardino County attended the two-day meeting.

Comments were gathered on the first day and alternatives were developed on the second day.

On March 7, 1996, Team Leader Dennis Schramm, Death Valley National Park Superintendent Dick

Martin, and Cultural Resources Specialist Linda Greene met with representatives of the Timbisha

Shoshone Tribe at Death Valley. A follow-up meeting with tribal leaders was held at their offices in

Death Valley on April 28, 1997. The purpose of these meetings was to initiate government-to-government relationships for the planning effort. The tribe was briefed on the scope and status of the

planning effort and discussed issues.

Extensive government-to-government consultations have been conducted with the Timbisha Shoshone

Tribe regarding land use matters. These consultations have resulted in the "Timbisha Shoshone

Homeland" draft report (1999), the Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement, Timbisha

Shoshone Homeland (2000) and a Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement - Timbisha

Shoshone Homeland (November 2000). On November 1, 2000, the Timbisha Shoshone Homeland Act

was established with the signing of Public Law 106-423.

An intertribal meeting of the Fort Mohave, Timbisha Shoshone, Chemehuevi, and San Manuel tribes

was held on July 11, 1997, at the Fort Mohave Reservation's Avi Hotel and Casino in the Laughlin,

Nevada area. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Native American issues and alternatives.

Invitation letters were sent to 13 tribal offices and to NPS and BLM staff. Seven representatives for the

tribes and nine agency staff attended the meeting. Mr. William "Bill" Mungary (an intertribal leader)

facilitated the meeting.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 USC 1531 et seq.), requires all federal agencies

to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to ensure that any action authorized, funded, or carried out by the agency does not jeopardize the continued existence of listed species or critical habitat. The National Park Service signed a Project Agreement at the beginning of the planning

effort with the BLM and USFWS. USFWS initially provided a staff biologist to the planning team who

prepared the list of species that might be potentially affected by the proposed action. On August 28,

1998, the NPS submitted a letter to the USFWS Ventura, California Field Office and on June 15, 1999,

the NPS submitted a letter to the USFWS Reno, Nevada Field Office requesting initiation of consultation

on the proposed action as identified in the 1998 draft EIS/GMP. The DEIS was submitted with the

request in lieu of a biological assessment. In February 2000, the NPS notified the USFWS that it wanted to re-initiate its consultation and advised them that they were preparing a revised DEIS/GMP. On

January 31, 2001 the park notified USFWS in Ventura it wanted to amend its earlier request to initiate

consultation. In this letter the park advised USFWS of its conclusion in the revised DEIS of a "may

effect, but not adversely effect" for any listed species, and asked for their concurrence. The USFWS

notified the park in July 2001 that they could not concur with this conclusion, and that they would
107

instead issue a biological opinion. The USFWS - Ventura, California and USFWS - Reno, Nevada

acknowledged our request to re-initiate consultation in a letter dated April 25, 2000. On July 24,

2001, the USFWS, Ventura, California signed a Biological Opinion (1-8-00-F-326) regarding the federally threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) and the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus), least Bell's vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus), Eureka Valley evening-primrose

(Oenothera californica spp. Eurekensis), and Eureka Valley dune grass (Swallenia alexandrae). On

August 14, 2001, the USFWS, Reno, Nevada signed a Biological Opinion (1-5-99-F-455) regarding the

endangered Devils Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis) on the Abbreviated Final EIS/GMP. 

Public Workshops and Comment Opportunities

In September 1998 the first Death Valley National Park Draft Environmental Impact Statement / General

Management Plan (DEIS/GMP) was released for public review and comment. Approximately 450 printed copies of the DEIS / GMP were distributed for review. In addition, about 100 CD-ROMs were also

sent. The entire draft plan was also posted on the Internet with links from the park's homepage and

the Northern and Eastern Mojave planning page. The notice of availability for the DEIS was published

in the Federal Register by the Environmental Protection Agency on September 11, 1998 (FR 48727).

Written comments were accepted from September 11, 1998, through January 15, 1999, a period of

127 days. Eleven public meetings were held in October 1998 throughout the planning region of southern California and southern Nevada. In addition, the planning team attended and participated in

numerous meetings of the Death Valley Advisory Commission to obtain their feedback, concerns, and

direction regarding the development of the general management plan. Death Valley received approximately 600 comment letters from government agencies, tribes, interest groups, and individuals. In addition, members of environmental groups (National Parks and Conservation Association, The Sierra Club,

and The Wilderness Society) sent in approximately 1,800 identical postcards. Several additional letters

and postcards were received after the closing date for public comments.

Due to the large number of substantial changes required as a result of public comment on the 1998

draft, the National Park Service decided to rewrite the draft document. In September 2000, a Revised

Draft Environmental Impact Statement / General Management Plan was released for 92 days of public

review. Responses to written public comments on the 1998 draft plan were addressed in a separately

bound report. A notice of availability was published in the Federal Register by the Environmental

Protection Agency on September 6, 2000 (FR 54064-54065). Eleven more public meetings on the

revised draft plan were held in southern California and southern Nevada during October and November

2000. During the public comment period, a total of 202 written comments were received. All substantive comments were addressed in a separate document that was made available concurrent with

the revised DEIS/GMP. 

After consideration of substantive public comments on the revised DEIS/GMP, the National Park Service

decided to prepare an Abbreviated Final Environmental Impact Statement / General Management Plan

(FEIS/GMP), dated June 2001. A Notice of Availability announcing the release of this document was

published in the Federal Register by the Environmental Protection Agency on June 22, 2001 (FR 33538).

The abbreviated format was used because the changes to the revised draft document are minor and

confined primarily to factual corrections, which do not modify the analysis. Use of this format is in compliance with the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act regulations (40 CFR 1503.4[c]). This abbreviated format requires that the material in this document be integrated with the Revised Draft

Environmental Impact Statement / General Management Plan to describe the final plan, its alternatives,

all significant environmental impacts, and the public comments that have been received and evaluated. 

The park received five comment letters during the 30-day no-action period following the release of the

FEIS/GMP. The comments expressed opinions and have already been addressed in the abbreviated

FEIS/GMP. The park will respond to the following comments that were of substantive nature but will

not change the language and content of the FEIS/GMP. The park received a comment that states: close

the Titus Canyon road during the summer due to the proximity of the road to some spring areas and

associated sheep habitat. The park responds that there has been no conclusive research or evidence

that indicates that by keeping the road open during the summer months there have been any negative

impacts on the Desert Bighorn Sheep populations associated with this area of the park. The park has

hired a wildlife biologist and plans to develop short and long range monitoring programs of the park's

Desert Bighorn Sheep populations. The park will continue to provide the opportunity for park visitors

to experience this extraordinary area of the park throughout the year until scientific investigation proves

it is detrimental to the sheep population.

Appendixes 

 Record of Decision
108

Another comment letter focused on grazing activities in the park. Relative to grazing levels or use of

an allotment and the associated water developments, one commentator stated that "livestock tanks

and troughs are an integral part of a grazing allotment and should remain if utilization by livestock continues" (with no removal of tanks and troughs if use is decreased or moved). The park responds that

given the provisions of the California Desert Protection Act, which provides that grazing allotments shall

continue to be exercised at "no more than the current level" established prior to the Act, and subject

to reasonable regulations, policies and practices. Current range facilities will remain in place unless

identifiable negative impacts occur in the short term. Any impacts to resources will be considered in a

grazing management plan that is being developed by the park, along with an assessment of impacts to

park resources and recommendations addressing those impacts.

It should be noted that three out of the four grazing allotments that existed prior to the establishment

of Death Valley National Park have been retired and that the park will work to restore those retired allotments to natural conditions. The commentator also noted that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

had developed an Allotment Management Plan (AMP) for the Hunter permit within the boundaries of

Death Valley National Park, but the plan was never fully implemented. The park responds that while

we agree that a BLM AMP had been developed prior to the park's establishment, it was never implemented. The park will develop a grazing management plan that adequately assesses all park resources

that may be impacted by grazing activities.

CONCLUSION

Alternative 1 provides the most comprehensive and proactive strategy among the alternatives considered for meeting the National Park Service's purposes, goals, and criteria for managing Death Valley

National Park in accordance with Congressional direction, federal laws, and NPS management policies.

The selection of Alternative 1, as reflected by the analysis contained in the environmental impact statement, would not result in the impairment of park resources and would allow the National Park Service

to conserve park resources and provide for their enjoyment by visitors.

Approved:
109

Appendix D. Northern and Eastern Mojave Project Time Line

October 31, 1994 California Desert Protection Act signed redesignating Death Valley and Joshua

Tree National Monuments as National Parks and creating Mojave National

Preserve.

September 5, 1995 Notice of Intent for planning effort published in Federal Register. Planning team

stationed at Mojave headquarters.

September 21-27, 1995 Ten public scoping meetings to identify issues were held in southern California

and in Nevada.

April 14-24, 1997 Ten public scoping meetings to identify alternatives were held in southern

California and in Nevada.

September 11, 1998 Notice of Availability for Death Valley National Park and Mojave National

Preserve Draft Environmental Impact Statements / General Management Plans.

Plans released for 127-day public review, ending January 15, 1999.

October 1998 Eleven public meetings to comment on the draft plans were held in southern

California and Nevada.

April 1999 “Timbisha Shoshone Homeland” draft report released for review.

April 2000 Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement, Timbisha Shoshone

Homeland released for review.

September 6, 2000 Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statements / General Management Plans

released for 92-day public review due to substantial changes required as a

result of public comment on the 1998 draft.

Oct. 27-Nov. 17, 2000 Eleven public meetings to comment on the revised draft plans were held in

southern California and Nevada.

November 2000 Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement, Timbisha Shoshone

Homeland released for review.

November 1, 2000 Timbisha Shoshone Homeland Act signed. Three hundred acres in Death Valley

National Park are transferred to the Tribe.

June 22, 2001 Abbreviated Final Environmental Impact Statements / General Management

Plans released and notice published in Federal Register by EPA.

September 27, 2001 Record of Decision on Death Valley’s Final Environmental Impact Statement/

General Management Plan signed.

March 26, 2002 Federal Register Notice of Record of Decision Approval published.

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1980 California Desert Conservation Area Plan.

Riverside, CA: Bureau of Land Management.

1982 A Sikes Act Management Plan for the Eureka

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1988 East Mojave Scenic Area. Management Plan,

Needles, CA: Bureau of Land Management.

1995a Briggs Project, Inyo County. Final

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1995b 1995 Wild Horse and Burro Statistics.

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1996 Army's Land Acquisition Project for the National

Training Center (Ft. Irwin Expansion) Draft EIS.

Riverside, CA: Bureau of Land Management.

1997 Tonopah Resource Management Plan and

Record of Decision. Tonopah, NV: Bureau of

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1997 Tom Egan, Wildlife Biologist, personal communication.

California Department of Fish and Game

1997 John R. Gustafson, Endangered Species

Biologist, personal communication.

California Department of Transportation

1996 1995 Traffic Volumes on the California State

Highway System. Sacramento, CA: Caltrans

California Natural Diversity Database

1996 Rarefind. California Department of Fish and

Game, Natural Heritage Division.

Dasmann, R.F.

1964 Wildlife Biology. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

1968 Big Game of California. Sacramento, CA:

California Department of Fish and Game.

Davis, Emma Lou, Brown, Kathryn H., and Jacqueline

Nichols

1980 Evaluation of Early Human Activities and

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Riverside, California: Cultural Resources

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Douglas, C. L. and T. L. Hurst

1993 Review and Annotated Bibliography of Feral

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Douglas, C. L. and D. M. Leslie, Jr.

1996 "Feral Animals on Rangelands." In Rangeland

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110

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113References
114

AML = Abandoned Mineral Lands

ASMIS = Archeological Sites Management Inventory System

AUM = Animal Unit Month

BIA = Bureau of Indian Affairs

BLM = Bureau of Land Management

Caltrans = California Department of Transportation

CCC = Civilian Conservation Corps

CDF&G = California Department of Fish and Game

CDPA = California Desert Protection Act

CFR = Code of Federal Regulations

CNPS = California Native Plant Society

DOD = Department of Defense

EIS = Environmental Impact Statement

FWS = Fish and Wildlife Service

GMP = General Management Plan

HMA = Herd Management Area

HML = Herd Management Level

LPP = Land Protection Plan

MOA = Military Operations Area

NEMO = Northern and Eastern Mojave

NEPA = National Environmental Policy Act

NPS = National Park Service

ROD = Record of Decision

ROW = Right-of-Way

USDI = U.S. Department of the Interior

USGS = U.S. Geological Survey

Acronyms
115

PREPARERS

THE NEMO PLANNING TEAM

Dennis Schramm, Team Leader, Desert Ecologist, NPS

Gordon Reetz, Natural Resources Specialist, NPS

David Moore, Community Planner, NPS

Carol Crosby, Wildlife Biologist, FWS

Harlan Unrau, Historian, NPS

Jean de los Reyes, Outdoor Recreation Planner, NPS

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

Don Ebert, Wildlife Biologist/GIS Specialist, UNLV

Matt Klein, GIS Technician, ECO Associate

Roger Kelly, Archeologist, NPS, PGSO

CONSULTANTS

J.T. Reynolds, Superintendent, Death Valley National Park

Dick Martin, former Superintendent, Death Valley National Park

Tim Stone, Management Assistant

Linda Greene, Chief, Resource Management, Death Valley

Ed Forner, Park Ranger/Pilot, Death Valley

Doug Threloff, Biologist, Death Valley

Mel Essington, Mining Engineer, Death Valley

Jed Davis, Chief of Maintenance, Death Valley

Marian O’Dea, Administrative Officer, Death Valley

Corky Hayes, Chief of Interpretation, Death Valley

Ray Murray, NPS Regional Planning Coordinator, PGSO

Alan Schmeirer, Environmental Compliance Coordinator, NPS, PGSO

Gordon Chappell, NPS Regional Historian, PGSO

Larry Norris, former NPS Planner, Denver

Preparers
The National Park Service cares for the special places saved by

the American people so that all may experience our heritage.

Experience Your America

As the nation's principal conservation agency, the Department

of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally

owned public lands and natural resources. This includes fostering sound use of our land and water resources; protecting

our fish, wildlife, and biological diversity; preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places; and providing for the enjoyment of life through

outdoor recreation. The department assesses our energy and

mineral resources and works to ensure that their development

is in the best interests of all our people by encouraging stewardship and citizen participation in their care. The department

also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in island territories

under U.S. administration.

DEVA NPS D201 / April 2002