From the NPS


Hello, Friends,

The draft Saline Valley Warm Springs Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is open for public comment until July 2. Please pass this on to any other potentially interested parties.

The draft plan and proposed actions can be viewed at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/SalineValleyWarmSprings. That is the also the website to make comments. Comments may also be mailed to: Death Valley National Park, P.O. Box 579, Death Valley, CA 92328. A limited number of paper copies are available at park headquarters as well as public libraries in Amargosa, Pahrump, Bishop, Lone Pine, and Ridgecrest. Please do not email your comments, as we are not set up to process a large number of comments that way.

The park will hold public meetings about the draft plan:
Sunday, May 27 from 1:00-2:00pm at the Saline Valley Warm Springs.
Tuesday, May 29 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Ridgecrest Historical Society, 230 West Ridgecrest Blvd, Ridgecrest, CA 93555.
Wednesday, May 30 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Inyo Council for the Arts, 137 South Main St, Bishop, CA 93514.
Thursday May 31 at 5:30-6:30pm online via a webinar. People joining the web presentation should register at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/SalineValleyWarmSprings for the webinar link and call-in phone number no later than 15 minutes before the presentation begins.

The preferred alternative in the draft plan proposes actions including:
Fencing would be installed around the developed area to exclude burros.
Officially designating the Chicken Strip airstrip as a landing strip through an associated rulemaking process, allowing it to remain open. Camping would be allowed at the airstrip.
Camping permits would be required. Permits would be free at first, but a fee might be implemented later. Camping would continue to be limited to 30 days per calendar year. Dispersed camping will be allowed in designated areas.
Remove non-native vegetation (including palms) from the Upper Springs. No replacement palms would be placed at Lower Springs when existing ones die naturally.
Art that is found to be 50 years or older is considered eligible for the National Register. Art installations determined to be eligible would be managed in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act. Non-historic art would be removed regularly to preserve the natural beauty of the area.
We look forward to receiving your constructive feedback. Saline Valley is a very special place.

Thank you!

buzzlatka wrote: From the NPS....The preferred alternative in the draft plan proposes actions including:
Fencing would be installed around the developed area to exclude burros.......

I know they compete with wild sheep etc for water holes, etc....
but I have a soft spot for burros.
They've been out there for over a hundred years.
Non-indigenous to the area, yes, but so are most of us.

It would behoove pilots to make comments on this draft. The preferred alternative maintains access. If all the comments that are recieved support closing the airstrip, it may be hard for the agency to keep the airstrip open even though they are trying to. Comments on plans like this matter a lot.

Yes, make commits to keep the strip open. It is a great spot.

This is so FN stupid.
"Remove non-native vegetation (including palms) from the Upper Springs. No replacement palms would be placed at Lower Springs when existing ones die naturally"

New comment on Chicken Strip: from NPS staff:

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2 ... made-legal

https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectId=39438


The National Park Service has finalized the Saline Valley Warm Springs Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (plan/EIS). The document outlines the agency's plan for managing visitor use, natural resources, cultural resources, and facilities at this backcountry site.

Saline Valley Warm Springs are located in a remote northwest corner of Death Valley National Park, 35 miles from the closest paved road. Recreational users developed soaking tubs and art installations starting in the 1950s. The site was managed by the Bureau of Land Management until it was transferred to NPS with the California Desert Protection Act in 1994.

The NPS started working on a management plan for the site in 2012. Inyo County, the BLM, and the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe participated in the plan as cooperating agencies. Several organizations were heavily involved in providing comments, including the Saline Preservation Association and Recreation Aviation Foundation.

There were opportunities for the public to provide feedback on the plan's direction in 2012, 2014, and 2018. The NPS received and analyzed a total of 1,696 pieces of correspondence during these comment periods. The NPS made changes to the plan at every stage of the process reflecting the feedback received from the public, organizations, and agencies.

"What we heard loud and clear from many of the recreational users was a desire to 'leave it like it is.' We feel this management plan will maintain a feeling of unconstrained recreation while protecting natural and cultural resources," said Death Valley National Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds.

Things staying the same under the plan:

• Existing soaking tubs at Lower Spring and Palm Spring would remain in use. </li>
• Upper Spring would remain undeveloped.</li></ul>
• All art installations that were in place by January 1, 2019 in non-wilderness areas would be allowed to stay.
• Airplane use of the Chicken Strip, in use for decades, would be authorized by a separate (pending) special regulation.
• NPS would establish memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with user groups for maintenance and management of Saline Valley Warm Springs.
• Public nudity is common at the site, and the plan is silent on this topic. Public nudity is not against Federal regulations, but lewd behavior is.

Things that would change under this plan:
• Three camping zones would be established: 1) car camping areas; 2) walk-in camping with an associated parking area separate from the camping area; and 3) areas where camping is prohibited, including within 100 feet of source springs.
• Artistic fencing would be added around source springs to prevent access by nonnative burros.
• Existing mature palm trees will stay at Lower Spring and Palm Spring until they die of natural causes. No new palm trees would be allowed to grow and native plants will be added to provide shade.
• All nonnative plants, including palm trees, at Upper Spring would be removed.
• New artwork would be allowed only if it does not disturb natural or cultural resources, is of a temporary nature, and is removed by the visitor when he or she leaves.
• The vehicle support facility would be removed.
• The NPS would address concerns about water quality, storage of hazardous materials, and wastewater.


The plan will become effective when the NPS signs the Record of Decision (ROD), which will be on or after June 10, 2019. However, some aspects of the plan may not be implemented immediately.

Contact Information
Abby Wines
[email protected]
760-786-3221

" Airplane use of the Chicken Strip, in use for decades, would be authorized by a separate (pending) special regulation. "

I have no idea what the separate regulation is and can't find it anywhere on the nps website. I have emailed the nps contact and will post the reply when recieved.

"Airplane use of the Chicken Strip, in use for decades, would be authorized by a separate (pending) special regulation."

Said pending special regulation is Regulation Identifier Number 1024-AE48, online at
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201810&RIN=1024-AE48

I hope aircraft operations are not prohibited between management plan adoption and the pending special regulation adoption.

Good find on the Reg....Abbey responded today with this. Sounds like we are good to go. The press release she attached is the old one from last September.

From Abby,

I'm attaching the press release from the public comment period last fall on the Chicken Strip.

Once the Record of Decision is signed on the Saline Valley Warm Springs Management Plan / EIS (probably June 14), then we will move forward with finalizing the regulation to authorize the Chicken Strip. I don't know how long that will take, but my guess is a month or two. In the meantime, we've never cited anyone for using it, and don't plan to start now.

Stay safe in your plane!

-Abby