Iron Mountains Endangered Desert Legacy

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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. Activities: Rockhounds flock to this area to collect epidote, garnet, hematite, jasper, marble, nodules, gypsum, halite, trilobites and other fossils in and around this area. The Lake’s ancient shoreline has also yielded several meteorite fragments, causing it to be a favorite among meteorite hunters. The remoteness of this area makes it an ideal get-away for anyone who wishes to enjoy the beauty and solitude of nature. 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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I ___- .-ll..l .“..l..““l.--..- I. _.^.___” _^.__.._._ - ._____.-.-.. ------ FEDERAL LAND M.ANAGEMENT Status and Uses of Wilderness Study Areas I 150156 RESTRICTED--Not to be released outside the General Accounting Wice unless specifically approved by the Office of Congressional Relations. ssBO4’8 RELEASED ---- ---. - (;Ao/li:( ‘I:I)-!L~-l~~lL - United States General Accounting OfTice GAO Washington, D.C. 20548 Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division B-262989 September 23,1993 The Honorable Bruce F. Vento Chairman, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands Committee on Natural Resources House of Representatives Dear Mr. Chairman: Concerned about alleged degradation of areas being considered for possible inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System (wilderness study areas), you requested that we provide you with information on the types and effects of activities in these study areas. As agreed with your office, we gathered information on areas managed by two agencies: the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLN) and the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service. Specifically, this report provides information on (1) legislative guidance and the agency policies governing wilderness study area management, (2) the various activities and uses occurring in the agencies’ study areas, (3) the ways these activities and uses affect the areas, and (4) agency actions to monitor and restrict these uses and to repair damage resulting from them. Appendixes I and II provide data on the number, acreage, and locations of wilderness study areas managed by BLM and the Forest Service, as well as data on the types of uses occurring in the areas.
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Page 1464 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 1132
§ 1132 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION Page 1464 Department and agency having jurisdiction of, and reports submitted to Congress regard- thereover immediately before its inclusion in ing pending additions, eliminations, or modi- the National Wilderness Preservation System fications. Maps, legal descriptions, and regula- unless otherwise provided by Act of Congress. tions pertaining to wilderness areas within No appropriation shall be available for the pay- their respective jurisdictions also shall be ment of expenses or salaries for the administra- available to the public in the offices of re- tion of the National Wilderness Preservation gional foresters, national forest supervisors, System as a separate unit nor shall any appro- priations be available for additional personnel and forest rangers. stated as being required solely for the purpose of managing or administering areas solely because (b) Review by Secretary of Agriculture of classi- they are included within the National Wilder- fications as primitive areas; Presidential rec- ness Preservation System. ommendations to Congress; approval of Con- (c) ‘‘Wilderness’’ defined gress; size of primitive areas; Gore Range-Ea- A wilderness, in contrast with those areas gles Nest Primitive Area, Colorado where man and his own works dominate the The Secretary of Agriculture shall, within ten landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where years after September 3, 1964, review, as to its the earth and its community of life are un- suitability or nonsuitability for preservation as trammeled by man, where man himself is a visi- wilderness, each area in the national forests tor who does not remain. An area of wilderness classified on September 3, 1964 by the Secretary is further defined to mean in this chapter an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its of Agriculture or the Chief of the Forest Service primeval character and influence, without per- as ‘‘primitive’’ and report his findings to the manent improvements or human habitation, President.
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Page 1517 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 1131 (Pub. L
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