A joyrider has once again wreaked havoc in California’s Death Valley National Park, this time damaging rare and endangered plants at Eureka Dunes. The National Park Service is hoping that somebody will come forward with information about the person(s) who carved up the site sometime in late December or early January, leaving behind more than two miles of tracks.
“I urge the public to come forward with any information that could help identify those responsible for driving on Eureka Dunes,” said Superintendent Mike Reynolds. “I’m saddened that someone would disregard the survival of a rare species for a few minutes of joyriding. There are multiple areas on BLM land nearby, such as Dumont Dunes, which are set aside for this type of recreation but the sensitive dune systems in the National Park are set aside to be protected.”
The NPS is specifically concerned with the damage done to rare plants in the area, which are guarded by the Endangered Species Act. Eureka Dunegrass grows exclusively in the Eureka Valley, and the vehicle trampled at least one of the plants with its tracks running over the root systems of eight more. It’s possible that they also damaged five more rare plant species including Eureka Dunes evening-primrose (Oenothera californica ssp. eurekensis), shining milk vetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. micans), gravel milk vetch (Astragalus sabulonum), Hillman’s silverscale (Atriplex argentea var. hillmanii), and Wheeler’s chaetadelpha (Chaetadelpha wheeleri)
Eureka Dunes is near the north end of the park, a good distance from the areas previously damaged by illegal off-roading. Five years ago, the park reported a rash of incidents involving off-roaders damaging protected areas near Stovepipe Wells, Badwater Basin, and Panamint Valley. Over the course of several months, Park Service employees documented more than 130 miles of unauthorized 4×4 tracks. While the footprint of the damage was much smaller this time around, the NPS is still taking the vandalism seriously, noting that a biologist had documented tire damage to at least one threatened plant species.
Not all damage done in the park is the result of deliberate vandalism. Just last year, somebody uprooted one of the park’s four century-old salt tram towers while attempting to winch a stuck vehicle out of the nearby muck. Still, phoning a friend would’ve been a better choice.
The National Park Service is asking anybody with information about the damage to come forward, so if you scrolled past a TikTok of somebody doing sweet jumps at California’s highest sand dune, you can do your fellow taxpayers a solid and snitch on them report it using the tip form at the bottom of this announcement.