Sometime in late December or early January, someone illegally drove a motor vehicle through Death Valley’s Eureka Dunes National Natural Landmark, officials with the National Park Service (NPS) confirmed. Along the way, the driver caused extensive damage to rare and threatened plants protected under the Endangered Species Act. Now, the NPS is seeking information that could help identify the driver.
“I urge the public to come forward with any information that could help identify those responsible for driving on Eureka Dunes,” NPS park superintendent Mike Reynolds said in a press release. “I’m saddened that someone would disregard the survival of a rare species for a few minutes of joyriding.”
Eureka Dunes Driver: Damaged Dunegrass & Rare Plants
Eureka dunegrass only grows in the Eureka Dunes and is a highly sensitive organism. It is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. According to NPS, the driver directly damaged at least one Eureka dunegrass plant and likely did root damage to an additional eight plants by driving so close to them. But that wasn’t the full extent of the damage.
“In addition to the documented damage to Eureka dunegrass, the vehicle tracks may have harmed five other rare plant species,” NPS wrote in its press release.
According to officials, the driver also damaged Eureka Dunes evening primrose, shining milk vetch, gravel milk vetch, Hillman’s silver scale, and Wheeler’s chaetadelpha.
NPS is asking anyone with information about this incident to contact them. “You don’t have to tell us who you are,” NPS wrote, but please tell us what you know.”
The tip line number is 888-653-0009. You can also email NPS at nps_isb@nps.gov or fill out the online form at go.nps.gov/SubmitATip.
Death Valley National Park: Plenty of Places to Drive
Operating an off-road vehicle in Eureka Dunes or anywhere in Death Valley National Park is strictly prohibited by NPS. Visitors are also discouraged from sandboarding and told to camp away from the base of the dunes because the ecosystem is so fragile.
“Lifeforms here may not be able to survive our carelessness,” NPS wrote on its webpage for Eureka Dunes. “Try to choose activities that have the least impact on the land.”
Death Valley is the largest national park outside of Alaska and is seeing increased visitation numbers every year. That presents a challenge for rangers who are trying to crack down on illegal off-roading. In 2018, the park started documenting the number of illegal tracks and how many miles of them were discovered. Just in 2020, there were 381 illegal disturbances totaling 100 miles of off-road tracks.
That’s particularly frustrating for rangers because there are specific areas where off-roading is allowed. Disregarding those and driving into a prohibited area like Eureka Dunes causes totally preventable and unnecessary damage.
“There are multiple areas on BLM land nearby, such as Dumont Dunes, which are set aside for this type of [off-road] recreation,” Reynolds said. “But the sensitive dune systems in the National Park are set aside to be protected.”
