California Desert
With spectacular pastel vistas, spring wildflowers and popular destinations like Death Valley and Joshua Tree national parks, the California desert is an amazing place to discover.
Why the California Desert
The California desert is a spectacular panorama of the American West. It includes stunning sand dunes, carpets of Mojave wildflowers, bighorn sheep and desert tortoise.
Gems like Joshua Tree and Death Valley can be preserved with Senator Feinstein’s California Desert Protection Act. Our work to pass this would protect about 1.6 million acres of stunning public wildlands.
Work we are doing
The California Desert Protection Act would preserve many stunning areas of the Mojave, including:
Mojave Trails National Monument
The act would protect 941,000 acres of wildlands as a new national monument, bridging Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave National Preserve. It would include:
- Pisgah lava flow
- Amboy Crater
- Kelso Dunes wilderness
- Historic Route 66
Sand to Snow National Monument
The act would create a 134,000-acre monument from the desert floor in the Coachella Valley to the forested peak of Mount San Gorgonio, Southern California’s tallest mountain. The monument would include:
- Wildlife corridors linking Joshua Tree National Park to the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
- Bighorn sheep and desert tortoise habitat
- The Whitewater River
Joshua Tree National Park
Scientists predict that Joshua trees may disappear as climate change alters their habitat. This act would add more than 2,800 acres to Joshua Tree National Park's northern boundary – an area rich in Joshua trees, granite peaks and habitat for desert tortoise and other rare and endangered species.
Death Valley National Park
The act would add about 46,000 acres to Death Valley National Park, including a southern section and geological gem known as the “Bowling Alley.”
Mojave National Preserve
The act would add 29,000 acres to preserve including a former gold mining area that has been reclaimed.
Crucial rivers and creeks
The act would protect 76 miles of beautiful portions of Deep Creek, Amargosa River, Surprise Canyon and other rivers and creeks.
Five new wilderness areas
The act would create new wilderness designated areas in Death Valley National Park and other federal lands.
Our Partners
We couldn't do our work in the California Desert without the help of local partners. Learn about our partnerships.
Why Wilderness
Wilderness is a precious resource with many human, natural and economic benefits that we need to protect.
Notes from the Field
Learn more about issues affecting the places we work to protect with our Notes from the Field.
mywilderness
Hear artists, activists and adventurers share what the ownership and legacy of these American wildlands means to them.
- Friday, March 28, 2014
Its granite Bristol Mountains rise above the earth beside volcanic mountains like Broadwell Mesa, but of course the main attraction here are the sand dunes, sculpted by wind over the past 25,000 years. Its dune field covers 45 square miles with the tallest dunes about 650 feet high, making
- Friday, March 28, 2014
Oil from an aging Garfield County oil field has contaminated a wash flowing into Utah’s popular Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.
- Thursday, March 27, 2014
One of spring’s greatest joys is its abundance of beautiful wildflowers. From alpine mountains to dense wetlands to steamy deserts, designated wilderness areas feature a plethora of wildflowers, which are thankfully protected as a cherished part of these landscapes.