Castle Peaks area would be added to Mojave Preserve

Posted by Chris Clarke on December 21, 2009

From the California Desert Protection Act of 2010:

‘‘SEC. 1702. MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The boundary of the Mojave National Preserve is adjusted to include—
‘‘(1) the 29,221 acres of Bureau of Land Management land that is surrounded by the Mojave National Preserve to the northwest, west, southwest, south, and southeast and by the Nevada State line on the northeast boundary, as depicted on the map entitled ‘Proposed Castle Mountain Addition to the Mojave National Preserve’, numbered 170/100,075, and dated August 2009; and
‘‘(2) the 25 acres of Bureau of Land Management land in Baker, California, as depicted on the map entitled ‘Mojave National Preserve–Proposed Boundary Addition’, numbered 170/100,199, and dated August 2009.

The photo here is of the Castle Peaks area. It’s obviously of National Park stature with regard to scenic beauty, and though I did frame the shot to exclude a small powerline and fencepost here and there it’s wild enough land as well. Privately owned land in Nevada runs along the northeastern boundary of the parcel, but said landowner is not particularly hostile to the Park Service.

This is one provision of the CDPA2010 I support without reservation. If they tossed in the Wee Thump wilderness, just across the Nevada line, I’d support it even harder.