Joshua Tree National Park Boundary Study Fact Sheet
Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is a biodiverse gem, has a rich history and culture, provides outstanding recreational opportunities for millions of visitors from around the globe and is a powerful economic engine. In fact, in 2015, over 2 million people from all over the world visited the park and spent over $96 million in surrounding gateway communities.
Joshua Tree is unique ecologically because it is a transition zone between the Mojave and Colorado Desert ecosystems that create the perfect conditions for a unique assemblage of plants and animals, including a herd of approximately 250 bighorn sheep, 250 species of migratory and resident birds and numerous mammals, insects and reptiles. The park is also botanically diverse and has a rich history and culture.
Eagle Mountain lands
The Eagle Mountain lands were once part of Joshua Tree National Monument, but were removed in the 1950s for mineral exploration. They are currently primarily managed by the Bureau of Land Management, but also include lands that are owned or managed by private entities, the state, Los Angeles Metropolitan Water District and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Under the more than half a century of BLM management the area has seen some of the most harmful environmental proposals in the California desert, including the defeated Eagle Mountain Landfill a current threat- the Eagle Crest Pumped Storage Project.
Fortunately, Congressman Ruiz and the National Park Service have conducted a boundary study that has found that the Eagle Mountain lands have significant resources and would be feasible to manage as part of Joshua Tree National Park. Now it’s up to us to make sure that this transfer occurs and that Joshua Tree National Park is once more made whole.
The return of the Eagle Mountain lands to Joshua Tree National Park will enhance recreational opportunities for residents living in the Coachella Valley; protect iconic species like desert bighorn, golden eagle and desert tortoise and preserves important prehistoric and historic resources from Native American cultures to General Patton’s training camps to the Kaiser Mine.
The transfer of Eagle Mountain lands preserve private property rights, mineral rights, Metropolitan Water District lands and lands withdrawn by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the Eagle Crest Pumped Storage Project.
Boundary Study Alternatives
Business should urge the National Park Service to adopt a mixture of the Boundary Study’s Alternative C and Alternative D. Alternative C calls for the transfer of over 20,000 acres of BLM land through an administrative action, as opposed to an act of Congress, which could generate controversy and take years. Alternative D calls for the restoration of Joshua Tree National Monument’s 1936 boundary that could one day include the include the Eagle Mountain Mine and the Eagle Crest Pumped Storage Project if and when those lands become available.