Facilities and Development The Plan The management goal is to minimize development incorporate sustainable practices and elements to of new facilities that would detract from the setting the maximum extent practicable in planning, design, and sense of discovery that currently exists. This siting, construction, building materials, utility sys- means minimizing new development, including the tems, recycling, and waste management. proliferation of signs, new campgrounds and out- Facilities and Development door interpretive exhibits. Mojave will look to adja- VISITOR INFORMATION cent communities to provide most visitor support services such as food, gas, and lodging. Information Centers and Sources The National Park Service intends to locate some Background management facilities outside the Preserve, consis- The National Park Service currently leases commer- tent with the existing management direction and cial space under the giant thermometer adjacent to proposed actions identified in this plan. This will the Bun Boy Restaurant in Baker, California as a vis- include, but is not limited to, the headquarters site itor information center. The Death Valley Natural in Barstow, visitor information facilities in Baker and History Association and Mojave National Preserve Needles and potentially employee housing in Baker, share support and material costs. Information is Nipton, or Essex. Buildings may be acquired through available about recreational activities in Death Valley donation or acquisition. An assessment will be National Park, Mojave National Preserve and sur- made for possible future uses such as visitor contact rounding Bureau of Land Management recreation stations, administrative facilities, employee housing sites such as Dumont Dunes. or restoration as historical interpretive properties. The Preserve leases office space in downtown Needles, California, for a visitor information center. SUSTAINABLE DESIGN This facility is jointly staffed by the National Park The Congressional mandate to the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management and Service has been expressed as conserving resources provides interpretive and recreational information while providing for their enjoyment by the public in about Mojave, Lake Mead, and BLM lands. a manner that will leave them unimpaired for future The Preserve also operates a visitor contact center at generations. This concept can best be expressed Hole-in-the-Wall in a building constructed by the today as sustainability, which is defined simply as Bureau of Land Management. A small amphitheater making decisions and engaging in practices that and picnic area are also available. This visitor contact meet the needs of the present generation, without center serves as a point for people camping in or vis- compromising the ability of the next generation to iting the area and provides overnight, short-term meet its needs. The National Park Service has issued, housing for one NPS staff member. Electricity is pro- and will update as necessary, guiding principles for vided by a solar electric system. sustainable design that will be applied throughout the Preserve. Information on park recreational opportunities has become increasingly available on the internet over Mojave will implement sustainable practices and pol- the last several years. The National Park Service main- lution prevention activities in all its management tains sites on every park unit at the address: actions, including the planning, construction and www.nps.gov. By accessing this site, visitors can also maintenance of facilities. New and rehabilitated visi- gain access to numerous other links about NPS issues, tor and management facilities in Mojave will be har- policies and visitor data. This site will help visitors monious with park resources, compatible with natu- planning a trip to the area gain the basic information ral processes, aesthetically pleasing, functional, as about activities, camping, and phone numbers. From accessible as possible to all segments of the popula- the general nationwide homepage, the park has con- tion, welcoming to traditionally associated groups, structed much more detailed information on Mojave. energy-efficient, and cost-effective. In practical For instance, detailed information on the geology of terms, the park must also integrate this philosophy the Preserve has been assembled in a cooperative into its daily standard operating procedures through venture with the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, adoption of water and energy conservation, recy- the park cooperated in the development of an inter- cling and waste reduction practices. Alternative agency desert-wide website that provides informa- energy sources such as solar electricity will be con- tion on public lands in the desert and links to many sidered for facilities at remote NPS locations of hous- interesting and informative sites. This page can be ing or operations. Park facilities and operations will found at: www.californiadesert.gov. 57 Plan Actions A small information and visitor contact desk will be staffed at the headquarters building in Barstow to serve the public and fill the needs of local commu- nities. Staffed information centers at Baker and Needles will continue to operate with the same focus as at present for the near future, although the exact location is subject to change since the facilities are leased. Mojave will continue to pursue partner- ships with other agencies (federal, state and local), tribes and private organizations to offer a broad range of visitor information at key desert gateway building is 11,500 square feet. Currently, it is not locations that target a variety of users. accessible to the public, and it is interpreted only by a couple of information panels around the building. The Preserve has many highway entrances and only The building was abandoned by Union Pacific in two staffed information centers outside its bound- 1985 and has been damaged over the ensuing years ary. Many visitors arrive without much opportunity by vandalism, removal of asbestos, earthquakes, to receive advanced information. To remedy this sit- and fifteen years of nonuse. Most of the historic fur- uation, the staff will continually investigate and nishings were removed prior to NPS ownership. develop effective means of providing advanced Modifications over the years have resulted in alter- information about the Preserve and the Mojave ation of the historic fabric in some parts of the Desert. The overall objective of this proposal will be building, such as the addition of modern drywall, to try to provide advance information that will new wall partitions and drop ceilings. Most of the enhance the quality of visitor’s experience. historic landscaping has long since died or been removed, except for six large date palms. Parking is The Hole-in-the-Wall information center will continue on denuded grounds to the west and north of the to provide visitor information and serve as a base for building. Bricks from the front of the building were interpretive programs such as ranger-led walks and removed by BLM and stored in a large steel con- talks. Eventual replacement of the existing informa- tainer onsite. The site has easy access to electrical tion center is being evaluated in a separate develop- power, but telephone lines are limited at this time. ment concept plan for Hole-in-the-Wall. One objec- Water and sewer are no longer available and must tive of this development concept planning effort is to be developed if the building is to serve the public as design and locate facilities to be operationally effi- a visitor center. Portable toilets were installed by the cient in their purpose, provide unstaffed visitor infor- NPS in 1995 due to the high use in the area. mation, but be visually secondary and complementa- ry to the beauty of the natural resources. The depot is within a 100-year floodplain. The National Park Service conducted a floodplain study The park will continue to maintain and enhance infor- in 1997 to determine the potential threat of flood- ing to the building. Mitigating measures such as mation on Mojave via the National Park Service web- armoring the dike north of the depot, elevating a site (www.nps.gov/moja), and will continue to portion of Kelbaker Road so as to fill in the gap in explore new opportunities for information distribu- the dike that the road creates, or establishing an tion as technology develops. Mojave is also a part- advanced warning system could reasonably address ner in a project to provide interagency desert-wide concerns for the protection of human life and gov- visitor information on the internet at a single site ernment property. (www.californiadesert.gov). Plan Actions Interpretive Facilities Kelso Depot will be rehabilitated for use as a muse- Kelso Depot um and interpretive facility. The exterior of the building will be restored to its pre-1942 appear- Background ance, as will certain interior spaces such as the The Kelso Depot offers considerable potential as the Beanery, the ticket office, the conductor’s room and main interpretive and visitor contact facility for the two overnight lodging rooms. Other spaces inside Preserve. The building has two main floors above the depot will be rehabilitated for visitor informa- ground, and a basement space. Total area in the tion displays, natural and cultural exhibits, audiovi- 58 The Plan sual exhibits, an auditorium, public restrooms, pub- structurally unsafe and nonfunctional facilities. A lication sales, working space for staff,