Of course, modern times have brought other sources of income to the area, particularly the military with its proving grounds, bases, and test ranges. Toxic waste incinerators and associated transportation facilities have moved into the heart of the spaciousness, along with gambling and other modern developments. They grow on rocky, windswept slopes between 2.2 km and 3.2 km in elevation, in shallow soils and with meager water. Bristlecones survive these conditions because they have only a narrow strip of living bark and add as little as one centimeter to their radius in a century. These mechanisams bypass what would otherwise be huge amounts of living tissue to sustain.
Human activities can have serious effects on the sensitive Great Basin ecosystem.
Federal public lands constitute the vast majority of the area. Land managers are grappling with how to accommodate both human needs and long-term sustainability of the ecosystem.