Page 17 - spring 2016 flip

Friends oF red rock canyon 17

Mojave Trails

ojave Trails National
Monument includes
M a landscape of the
Salt Song Trail sacred to Tribes along
the Colorado River. It is spanned by
the second transcontinental railroad,
made famous through songs and sto-
ries like John Steinbeck's The Grapes
of Wrath as well as Route 66. Route Bob Wick - BLM
66 is known internationally and is on
the World Monuments Fund's Watch
List of most endangered sites. Mo- Mojave Trails National Monument
jave Trails also contains several camps and
hundreds of square miles used by General ing Mojave Trails an outstanding outdoor
Patton in World War II and known as the recreation area. Its boundary contains rare plant
Desert Training Center, the remnants of species, some so new to science they haven’t
which are still written into the landscape. been named. The new Monument is home to
The Mojave Trail Monument connects iconic bighorn sheep, golden eagles and desert
Mojave National Preserve to Joshua Tree tortoises.
Mojave Desert Land Trust Archives 15 des- of every five acres in the Mojave Trails Monu-
National

Park and
The Wildlands Conservancy acquired one
ignated
ment for conservation purposes. In 1999, the
Wilder-
Catellus Development Corporation listed for-
ness
mer railroad lands for sale in a "checkerboard"
Areas,
pattern spread across hundreds of square miles
ing a
donated $45 million in privately raised funds in
Amboy in Bloom creat- of public lands. The Wildlands Conservancy
protected conjunction with $18 million in Land and Wa-
landscape across hundreds of square miles. ter Conservation Funds to the U.S. Department
of the Interior to acquire, restore and protect
Jeep trails off Route 66 provide public this landscape. The Mojave Trails National
access throughout the area for exploring, Monument ratifies this protection and secures
rock hounding and isolated camping, mak- the commitment made to conserve this area.

Background photo by Bob Wick - BLM (Continued on page 18)

Spring 2016