Bishop - Clarification of wilderness boundaries sought

A number of residents and visitors for the area are asking that Saline Valley Road be returned as the “clear and distinguishable” border (shown in pink) of the Inyo Mountain Wilderness and Death Valley National Park. The current border is shown in orange on the map above. Map courtesy AAPL

3-29-2008

It will take a congressional act to change the 1994 Death Valley National Park boundary designation, and that is what a group of concerned citizens are hoping will happen.

The citizens are concerned that an unclear boundary between the national park and designated wilderness has restricted hunting and other activities and even driven others from out of the area to seek their recreational hobbies in other counties.
Advocates for Access to Public Lands (AAPL) are now trying to garner the support of local governments, area chambers of commerce, tribal councils and grassroots organizations in an effort to convince officials in Washington to move the boundary of Death Valley National Park and the Inyo Mountain Wilderness back to its original, clear state right on Saline Valley Road.

Dick Noles and the Advocates for Access to Public Lands, are hoping that federal officials will be willing to re-think the border between the White Mountain Wilderness and Death Valley National Park. He hopes that with support from area chambers of commerce, the Inyo County Board of Supervisors and others, congress will approve the boundary re-designation. File photo

Members of AAPL appearing before the Inyo County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday gained the county’s support of federal legislation to return the boundary to its original, 1994 location.
According to the group, the 1994 Desert Protection Act adjusted what AAPL members called the “clear and recognizable boundary” of Saline Valley Road between Death Valley National Park and the Inyo Mountains Wilderness farther to the east, without any discernible marker.
That has caused confusion among many recreators, as the White Mountain Wilderness and Death Valley National Park have different rules and regulations on hunting and motorized, off-highway travel.
AAPL representative Dick Noles asked the Board of Supervisors to “consider petitioning (Senator Dianne) Feinstein and (Congressman Buck) McKeon” to return the area around Saline Valley Road “to semi-primitive recreation rather than National Park.”
Noles explained that the 1994 designation includes passes through Whippoorwill Flat as part of Death Valley National Park. That is an area traditionally used for hunting, nut gathering, hiking and mountain biking, he said, noting that the National Park Service does not allow recreators to carry firearms which makes hunters seek other areas to recreate.
Noles said the area is a “traditional Indian hunting ground.”
Inyo County resident Reese Cotton explained to the board that the confusion regarding where hunters could carry their weapons has deterred many from recreating in the area.
“You’re losing thousands of dollars of revenue back there,” Cotton said, adding that last year he spoke with several hunters who said they returned home to Southern California early due to the confusion.
According to Inyo County resident Ron Shiller, the county isn’t just seeing recreators go home early, many have quit coming to the area all together. “A great deal of my friends that used to come up here and hunt this area now go out of state,” Shiller said.
“Right now Inyo has the best system of backcountry access and I would appreciate if this resolution passed,” he said.
Sophia Merk of Ridgecrest, who serves as the chairperson for the Saline Valley Preservation Committee, told the supervisors on Tuesday that her committee “supports this all the way,” and would like to see Saline Valley Road returned as the official borderline between the wilderness and national park.
“I’ve been contacted myself by many, many hunters who are confused by the boundaries,” Merk said.
Recreators aren’t the only ones concerned about the wilderness boundaries.
When Saline Valley Road was incorporated into the Death Valley National Park, it made several borrow pits that Inyo County uses to maintain the road off-limits without an emergency notice approved by the National Park.
According to Inyo County Public Works Director Ron Chegwidden, Saline Valley Road is susceptible to flooding and other damage during heavy rain. Before the road was incorporated into the national park, the county was able to utilize several borrow pits in the area to maintain the road.
Since the 1994 designation, however, the pits have been located in Death Valley National Park, and the National Park Service must provide permission for the county to access the pits.
If federal legislators do approve the boundary move, said Chegwidden, “there would be distinct advantages to the Road Department.”
Chegwidden explained that the change in designation would make the two borrow pits on the west side of Saline Valley Road available to the Inyo County Road Department for repairs on the remote stretch of highway.
“The road could also be used as an alternate emergency route around (U.S.) 395” if it is maintained regularly, Chegwidden added.
Fourth District Supervisor Jim Bilyeu noted that “the National Park Service doesn’t help with road maintenance” on Saline Valley Road, or provide the county with regular access to the borrow pits necessary for the repairs.
“I support this 100 percent,” Bilyeu said, before proposing that the board approve a resolution in support of the congressional legislation to re-align the park boundary with Saline Valley Road.
When approving the resolution, supervisors noted, on the record, that no one attended the meeting to oppose the re-alignment.