The Mojave Desert Land Trust says they’ve acquired 160 acres of land for the Cady Mountains Wilderness Study Area. The non-profit organization announced the protected-area news yesterday on social media. Visitors will find hiking trails in the Cady Mountains and Cady Peak, a dominant mountain.
The Mojave Desert Land Trust works to protect desert land through land acquisition, restoration, education, and plant cultivation. Their work focuses on the Mojave Desert, which stretches across southern California and includes parts of Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks. The organization will work with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to oversee this latest acquisition in the Cady Mountains.
The area is a designated wilderness study area (WSA), which is yet another way to protect the outdoors, including everything from national parks to BLM land. Wilderness study areas are spaces that meet a specific size and natural criteria and are also considered great places for recreation. Wilderness areas generally do not have any roads or development within them. There are nearly 500 different WSAs in the west and Alaska.
In the past, the U.S. Congress has directed the BLM to identify these spaces, and the process is similar to national monuments, which a President’s Executive Order can create. Recently, this process was used to protect space outside Grand Canyon National Park. However, Congress designates WSAs.
