From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kiavah Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness protected area located 50 miles 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 88,992 acres of wilderness with 702 acres partially roaded nonwilderness.[1]
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 feet) in the south and Pinyon Peak (6,796 feet) in the north. Many canyons cut through the flanks of the plateau except in the north which has an abrupt 3,000 foot escarpment.[1]
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 17 miles. The other major trail is the Cholla Canyon Trail with a length of over four miles and passes three seasonal springs enroute.[1]
The Leave No Trace principles are advised while staying in the Kiavah Wilderness.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Adkinson, Ron Wild Northern California. The Globe Pequot Press, 2001
[edit] External links
Bureau of Land Management website/Kiavah Wilderness
The Bureau of Land Management's Leave No Trace training page
Map of roadless areas-Sequoia National Forest
|
Protected Areas of California |
|
| National Park System |
|
|
| State Parks |
|
|
| National Forests |
|
|
| State Forests |
|
|
| National Wildlife Refuges |
Antioch Dunes • Bitter Creek • Blue Ridge • Butte Sink • Castle Rock • Clear Lake • Coachella Valley • Colusa • Delevan • Don Edwards San Francisco Bay • Ellicott Slough • Farallon • Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes • Hopper Mountain • Humboldt Bay • Kern • Lower Klamath • Marin Islands • Merced • Modoc • Pixley • Sacramento • Sacramento River • Salinas River • San Diego Bay • San Diego • San Joaquin River • San Luis • San Pablo Bay • Seal Beach • Sonny Bono Salton Sea • Stone Lakes • Sutter • Tijuana Slough • Tule Lake
|
|
| State Wildlife Areas |
Wildlife Areas: Antelope Valley • Ash Creek • Bass Hill • Battle Creek • Big Lagoon • Big Sandy • Biscar • Butte Valley • Buttermilk Country • Cache Creek • Camp Cady • Cantara/Ney Springs • Cedar Roughs • Cinder Flats • Collins Eddy • Colusa Bypass • Coon Hollow • Cottonwood Creek • Crescent City Marsh • Crocker Meadows • Daugherty Hill • Decker Island • Doyle • Dutch Flat • Eastlker River • Eel River • Elk Creek Wetlands • Elk River • Fay Slough • Feather River • Fitzhugh Creek • Fremont Weir • Grass Lake • Gray Lodge • Green Creek • Grizzly Island • Hallelujah Junction • Heenan Lake • Hill Slough • Hollenbeck Canyon • Honey Lake • Hope Valley • Horseshoe Ranch • Imperial • Indian Valley • Kelso Peak and Old Dad Mountains • Kinsman Flat • Knoxville • Laguna • Lake Berryessa • Lake Earl • Lake Sonoma • Little Panoche Reservoir • Los Banos • Lower Sherman Island • Mad River Slough • Marble Mountains • Mendota • Merrill's Landing • Miner Slough • Monache Meadows • Morro Bay • Moss Landing • Mouth of Cottonwood Creek • Napa-Sonoma Marshes • North Grasslands • O'Neill Forebay • Oroville • Petaluma Marsh • Pickel Meadow • Pine Creek • Point Edith • Putah Creek • Rector Reservoir • Red Lake • Rhode Island • Sacramento River • San Felipe Valley • San Jacinto • San Luis Obispo • San Luis Reservoir • San Pablo Bay • Santa Rosa • Shasta Valley • Silver Creek • Slinkard/Little Antelope • Smithneck Creek • South Fork • Spenceville • Surprise Valley • Sutter Bypass • Tehama • Truckee River • Upper Butte Basin • Volta • Warner Valley • Waukell Creek • West Hilmar • Westlker River • White Slough • Willow Creek • Yolo Bypass
Ecological Reserves: Albany Mudflats • Alkali Sink • Allensworth • Atascadero Creek Marsh • Bair Island • Baldwin Lake • Batiquitos Lagoon • Blue Sky • Boden Canyon • Boggs Lake • Bolsa Chica • Bonny Doon • Buena Vista Lagoon • Butler Slough • Butte Creek Canyon • Butte Creek House • Buttonwillow • By Day Creek • Calhoun Cut • Canebrake • Carlsbad Highlands • Carmel Bay • Carrizo Canyon • Carrizo Plains • China Point • Clover Creek • Coachella Valley • Coal Canyon • Corte Madera Marsh • Crestridge • Dairy Mart Ponds • Dales Lake • Del Mar Landing • Elkhorn Slough • Estelle Mountain • Fall River Mills • Fish Slough • Fremont Valley • Goleta Slough • Indian Joe Spring • Kaweah • Kerman • King Clone • Laguna Laurel • Loch Lomond Vernal Pool • Lokern • Magnesia Spring • Marin Islands • Mattole River • McGinty Mountain • Morro Dunes • Morro Rock • Napa River • North Table Mountain • Oasis Spring • Panoche Hills • Peytonia Slough • Piute Creek • Pleasant Valley • Point Lobos • Rancho Jamul • Redwood Shores • River Springs Lakes • Saline Valley • San Dieguito Lagoon • San Elijo Lagoon • San Felipe Creek • San Joaquin River • Santa Rosa Plateau • Springville • Stone Corral • Sycamore Canyon • Sycuan Peak • Thomes Creek • Tomales Bay • Upper Newport Bay • Watsonville Slough • West Mojave Desert • Woodbridge • Yaudanchi
Marine Protected Areas: Abalone Cove • Agua Hedionda Lagoon • Albany Mudflats • Anacapa • Anacapa • Año Nuevo • Asilomar • Atascadero Beach • Bair Island • Batiquitos Lagoon • Big Creek • Big Creek • Big Sycamore Canyon • Bodega • Bolsa Chica • Buena Vista Lagoon • Cambria • Cardiff and San Elijo • Carmel Bay • Carmel Pinnacles • Carrington Point • Catalina Marine Science Center • Corte Madera Marsh • Crystal Cove • Dana Point • Del Mar Landing • Doheny • Doheny • Duxbury Reef • Edward F. Ricketts • Elkhorn Slough • Elkhorn Slough • Encinitas • Estero de Limantour • Fagan Marsh • Farallon Islands • Farnsworth Bank • Fort Ross • Gerstle Cove • Goleta Slough • Greyhound Rock • Gull Island • Harris Point • Heisler Park • Hopkins • Irvine Coast • James V. Fitzgerald • Judith Rock • Julia Pfeiffer Burns • La Jolla • Laguna Beach • Lovers Cove (Catalina Island) • Lovers Point • MacKerricher • Manchester and Arena Rock • Marin Islands • Mia J. Tegner • Moro Cojo Slough • Morro Bay • Morro Bay • Morro Beach • Natural Bridges • Niguel • Pacific Grove Marine Gardens • Painted Cave • Peytonia Slough • Piedras Blancas • Piedras Blancas • Pismo • Pismo-Oceano Beach • Point Buchon • Point Buchon • Point Cabrillo • Point Fermin • Point Lobos • Point Reyes Headlands • Point Sur • Point Sur • Portuguese Ledge • Punta Gorda • Redwood Shores • Refugio • Richardson Rock • Robert E. Badham • Robert W. Crown • Russian Gulch • Salt Point • San Diego-Scripps • San Dieguito Lagoon • San Elijo Lagoon • Santa Barbara Island • Scorpion • Skunk Point • Sonoma Coast • Soquel Canyon • South Laguna Beach • South Point • Tomales Bay • Upper Newport Bay • Van Damme • Vandenberg • White Rock (Cambria)
|
|
National Landscape
Conservation System |
|
|
National Marine
Sanctuaries |
|
|
National Estuarine
Research Reserves |
|
|
University of California
Natural Reserve System |
Año Nuevo Island • Bodega Marine • Box Springs • Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center • Burns Piñon Ridge • Carpinteria Salt Marsh • Chickering American River • Coal Oil Point • Dawson Los Monos Canyon • Eagle Lake Field Station • Elliott Chaparral • Emerson Oaks • Fort Ord • Hastings • James San Jacinto Mountains • Jenny Pygmy Forest • Jepson Prairie • Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh • Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino • Landels-Hill Big Creek • McLaughlin • Motte Rimrock • Quail Ridge • Sagehen Creek Field Station • San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh • Santa Cruz Island • Scripps Coastal • Sedgwick • Stebbins Cold Canyon • Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains • Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center • Valentine Eastern Sierra • Younger Lagoon
|
|
|
|
|
This article related to a protected area in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
