Kiavah Wilderness

Infobox Protected area
name = Kiavah Wilderness
iucn_category = Ib

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caption =
base_width =
locator_x =25
locator_y =94
location =
nearest_city = Ridgecrest, California
lat_degrees=35 |lat_minutes=33 |lat_seconds=0 |lat_direction=N
long_degrees=118 |long_minutes=01 |long_seconds=0 |long_direction=W
area = convert|88992|acre|km2
established =
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
governing_body = U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management
world_heritage_site =The Kiavah Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness "protected area" located convert|50|mi|km northeast of Bakersfield, California USA. It was created in 1994 by the California Desert Protection Act (Public Law 103-433) and is jointly managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management(BLM).There are convert|88992|acre|km2 of wilderness with convert|702|acre|km2 partially roaded nonwilderness.Adkinson, Ron "Wild Northern California". The Globe Pequot Press, 2001]

This wilderness is part of a National Cooperative Land and Wildlife Management Area and the BLM's Jawbone-Butterbredt Area of Critical Environmental Concern, which was designated to protect critical wildlife and Native American values.

Activities in the wilderness include day-hiking, backpacking, pinyon nut gathering, and nature photography.Located on a broad plateau rising immediately south of the Walker Pass in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, are the Scodie Mountains. This wilderness protects the transition zone of the Mojave desert to the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. The highest peaks are Skinner Peak (7,120 ft) in the south and Pinyon Peak (6,796 ft) in the north. Many canyons cut through the flanks of the plateau except in the north which has an abrupt convert|3000|ft|m|sing=on escarpment.

Flora and fauna

The Kiavah Wilderness is one of only two protected areas that support a significant woodland of pinyon-juniper in California. Other plant life include Mormon tea, sagebrush, creosote, burrobush and shadscale, pinyon pine, juniper, canyon oak, grey pine and Joshua trees.Spring wildflower displays are from April to June and are a major attraction to the wilderness.

The semiarid conditions with few reliable water sources restrict wildlife habitat. The U.S. Forest Service has installed water guzzlers and springs to increase water supply for the small number of mule deer as well as mountain quail and California quail (or Valley quail).Also the rough-legged hawk, yellow-headed blackbird, gray-crowned rosy finch, and sage sparrow have been seen here.

Water sources

Three seasonal springs flow from the slope of the plateau; Yellowjacket, McIvers and Willow.Other springs flow from the canyon folds.Hikers need to carry one to two gallons of water, depending on length of trip into the Kiavah Wilderness.

Recreation

State Highway 178 connects the town of Lake Isabella, California to state Highway 14 in the east, crossing Walker Pass at the north boundary of the wilderness. Most of the recreation is concentrated along forest road 72S11 in the southeast where off-highway vehicles are frequent.The Pacific Crest Trail travels the length of the wilderness for convert|17|mi|km.The other major trail is the Cholla Canyon Trail with a length of over four miles (6 km) and passes three seasonal springs en route.

The Forest Service encourages the practice of Leave No Trace principles of outdoor travel to minimize human impact on the environment.

References

External links

* [http://www.blm.gov/ca/pa/wilderness/wa/areas/kiavah.html Bureau of Land Management website/Kiavah Wilderness]
* [http://www.blm.gov/education/lnt/ The Bureau of Land Management's Leave No Trace training page]
* [http://roadless.fs.fed.us/states/ca/sequ.pdf Map of roadless areas-Sequoia National Forest]