Ship Mountains Endangered Desert Legacy

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Ship Mountains Endangered Desert Legacy Location: The Ship Mountains area is located in the Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County. It is located north of Cadiz Dunes Wilderness and south of Route 66. It is east of Cadiz Road and west of Skeleton Pass Road. The area abuts the northeastern side of the Cadiz Valley. Management Agency: Bureau of Land ManaGement, Needles Field Office Description: The Ship Mountains stretch about nine miles from west to east from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to Skeleton Pass. From north to south, they are only about 3.5 miles wide. The mountains dominate the northern portion, while bajadas and washes sloping down from the Old Woman Mountains to the east comprise the remainder of the area. Elevations in the area ranGe from about 750 feet to about 3,250 feet. Wildlife and Plants: Species that make this area their home include the protected desert bighorn sheep, and the threatened desert tortoise (photo above). The area has been desiGnated critical habitat for the desert tortoise. Other species that can be found here include the burrowing owl, California leaf-nosed bat, Harwood's eriastrum, Mojave frinGe-toed lizard, and white-marGined beardtonGue (photo above). The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has also identified this area as a wildlife miGration corridor. Cultural Importance: The Ship Mountains and surroundinG lands are of Great cultural importance to indigenous people. The Chemehuevi and other neiGhborinG tribes have traveled Mojave trails, includinG those leadinG from the Ship Mountains to and from the Old Woman Mountains, for thousands of years. They still use the valley floor to collect food and medicinal herbs. The area is an eXtremely important sacred and symbolic place. Their stories about travels, hunts, and GatherinGs in this area are tantamount to what they describe as their own “Old Testament,” which give them belonGing to this special place. Activities: This area is visited by Route 66 enthusiasts, nature lovers, hikers, campers, equestrians, star Gazers, and those seekinG the beauty and solitude that this area has to offer. PaleontoloGists frequent this area, as it is a known source of fossils; significant occurrences of fossils, includinG rhinoceros, camel, canid, felid, bird track, and plant, are located in the Ship Mountains, and other nearby mountains. Rockhounds also collect epidote, Garnet, hematite, jasper, marble, nodules, and trilobites in and around this area. Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan – California Wilderness Coalition Like us on facebook For more information contact: Linda Castro, 760.221.4895, [email protected] to get involved .

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Iron Mountains Endangered Desert Legacy
Iron Mountains Endangered Desert Legacy Location: The Iron Mountains area is located in the Mojave Desert, in both San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, south of the town of Cadiz. The area is located north of Highway 62, northeast of Joshua Tree National Park, south of the Cadiz Dunes Wilderness and southwest of the Old Woman Mountains Wilderness. The area abuts the eastern side of the Cadiz Valley. Management Agency: Bureau of Land Management, Needles Field Office Description: The terrain includes rugged mountains, playas, sand dunes, bajadas, washes and dozens of other geologic features. The area also contains a portion of Danby Lake (dry). Elevations range from about 600 feet to about 3,200 feet. Wildlife and Plants: The Iron Mountains area is habitat for the endangered desert tortoise, the protected desert bighorn sheep (photo above), and several species on the state watch-list, including the Mojave fringe-toed lizard, hepatic tanager, and prairie falcon. Emory's crucifixion-thorn and Harwood's eriastrum can also be found here. In 1999, a Gila monster was also seen in the area. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife recognizes this area as a wildlife migration corridor, which is an area connecting wildlife populations that have been separated due to human activities. Corridors help avoid inbreeding and may help to re-establish populations that have been reduced or eliminated due to random events such as fire or disease. Desert bighorn sheep have also been found to migrate between the Iron Mountains and the Old Woman Mountains, which can be an important factor in trying to ensure that the species does not die out.
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10 18 " 13 4 47 ! ! ! 47 " " 11 Piute Valley and Sacramento Mountains 54 " ! ! 87 12 ! 81 " 4 55 61 22 " ! " Pinto Lucerne Valley and Eastern Slopes ! 63 33 " 56 " " " 36 25 Colorado Desert " 20 ! " " 59 37 ! 2 ! 19 " ! 16 19 ! 56 21 " ! ! 15 27 ! 38 Arizona Lake Cahuilla 72 Lake Cahuilla 48 57 " ! ! 57 ! " 34 35 84 ! " 42 76 ! 26 41 ! " 0 5 10 14 58I Miles 28 " " 43 ! ! ! ! 8!9 Existing " Proposed DRECPSubareas 66 62 Colorado Desert Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) ACECs within the Colorado Desert Subarea # Proposed ACECs 12 Cadiz Valley Chuckwalla Central 19 (covered in Chuckwalla, see below)) Chuckwalla Extension 20 (covered in Chuckwalla, see below) Chuckwalla Mountains Central 21 (covered in Corn Springs, see below) 22 Chuckwalla to Chemehuevi Tortoise Linkage Joshua Tree to Palen Corridor 33 (covered in Chuckwalla to Chemehuevi Tortoise Linkage) 36 McCoy Valley 37 McCoy Wash 38 Mule McCoy 44 Palen Ford Playa Dunes 48 Picacho Turtle Mountains Corridor 55 (covered in Chuckwalla to Chemehuevi Tortoise Linkage) 56 Upper McCoy # Existing ACECs (within DRECP boundary) 2 Alligator Rock 15 Chuckwalla 16 Chuckwalla Valley Dune Thicket 19 Corn Springs 25 Desert Lily Preserve 56 Mule Mountains 59 Palen Dry Lake 61 Patton's Iron Mountain Divisional Camp 81 Turtle Mountains Cadiz Valley Description/Location: North of Hwy 62, south of Hwy 40 between the Sheep Hole mountains to the west and the Chemehuevi ACEC to the east. Nationally Significant Values: Ecological: The Cadiz Valley contains an enormous variation of Mojave vegetation, from Ajo Lilies to Mojave Yucca. Bighorn, deer and mountain lion easily migrate between basin and range mountains of the Sheephole, Calumet Mountains, Iron Mountains, Kilbeck Hills and Old Woman Mountains with little or no human infrastructure limits.
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Appendix L, Bureau of Land Management Worksheets
Chemehuevi Description/Location: The north edge of the unit adjoins the southern and eastern boundary of Mojave National Preserve and the Nevada border and extends south and east to the Colorado River and Riverside County. There are 3 expansions areas proposed for this ACEC. The existing ACEC and proposed ACEC expansions and NLCS lands would link and connect the protected lands in ten wilderness areas (Trilobite, Clipper Mountains, Piute Mountains, Bigelow Cholla, Dead Mountains, Old Woman Mountains, Turtle Mountains, Stepladder Mountains, Whipple Mountains, and Chemehuevi Mountains) with Mojave National Preserve. This extensive and contiguous conservation landscape would stretch from the Colorado River region to the higher East Mojave desert. Nationally Significant Values: Ecological: This area encompasses a transition zone between both Mojave and Sonoran Desert ecosystems. Chemehuevi Wash is one of the largest desert wash systems in the US portion of the Sonoran Desert. The area has some of the best desert tortoise habitat in the southeast Mojave and northeast Sonoran Deserts. The Chemehuevi Desert Wildlife Management Area was established to protect and conserve this desert tortoise habitat. The transitional ecosystem attracts a variety of birds including BLM sensitive species such as prairie falcons, gray vireo, Bendire’s thrasher, and burrowing owls. Specialized habitats include dunes for Mojave fringe‐toed lizards and roosting habitat for several bat species. Numerous rare and sensitive plants inhabit the area including Emory’s crucifixion thorn, white margined penstemon, scrub lotus, rosy two‐ toned beardtongue, as well as Cryptantha clokeyi, Ditaxis claryana, Juncus nodosus, Mentzelia tricuspis, Opuntia wigginsii, and Psorothamnus fremontii var. attenuates. Between the Clipper Mountains and the Trilobite Wilderness areas is Bonanza Spring, one of the few natural watering areas for wildlife in the Mojave Desert.
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