The road-closure situation in the national parks is not quite as clear-cut. Everything that was said above about BLM wilderness areas also applies to wilderness areas within the parks. But the National Park Service can close or otherwise restrict existing roads in other areas of the parks. Such details are not addressed in the Desert Bill itself. Rather, items such as road closures would be included in the management plans that would be drawn up for the new or upgraded parks. Public input is solicited during the drafting of these management plans. I do not know if the NPS would even want to close any roads in the three parks, or if this would affect access to any peaks. But in any event, the public review process would give us a good chance to get undesirable provisions removed from the management plans.
A similar situation exists with respect to certain other traditional DPS activities. A good example is the use of the hot springs in Saline Valley. The Desert Bill just says that the whole area will become part of the enlarged and upgraded Death Valley National Park. Other decisions relating to the springs and their use by the public are left to the park management plan.
I think it unlikely that much would change in Saline Valley, partly because of the severe budget crunch the NPS is facing, and partly because current NPS policy does not seem to favor overdevelopment of visitor facilities. In other words, transferring jurisdiction from the BLM to the NPS would not result in a sudden influx of new visitors; the same people that have been using the springs would continue to use them, and in largely the same manner. As long as users show a reasonable amount of responsibility so things do not get out of hand, the NPS might decide to leave well enough alone and not try to make major changes in a long- established and non-destructive use of the resource. If the park people do not see it that way, interested parties can work to change objectionable policies during the public review of the park management plan.
The California desert is endangered. It is faced with ever increasing threats of development and abuse. The time is rapidly approaching when it will be too late to save large portions of the desert for the enjoyment of future generations of desert lovers like ourselves. The California Desert Protection Act may not be perfect from the viewpoint of the Desert Peaks Section, but it is a balanced and carefully drawn bill, the result of years of work. It provides the protection that the desert needs, while still allowing us the level of access to which we are accustomed.
 |
-- Bill Faulkner, DPS Conservation Chair |