"Great Basin landscape, Great Basin National Park, 2013." by U.S. National Park Service , public domain
Great Basin
National Park - Nevada
Great Basin National Park is in eastern Nevada near the Utah border. It's in the Great Basin Desert and contains most of the South Snake mountains. In the north, the mountain-hugging Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive leads to towering Wheeler Peak. Nearby is one of several ancient bristlecone pine groves. The marble Lehman Caves have distinctive stalactites and other formations. Park wildlife includes bighorn sheep.
Map of Dispersed Camping On BLM Near Great Basin National Park in the BLM Bristlecone Field Office area in Nevada. Published by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Map of Upper Campground and Trails at Sacramento Pass Recreation Area in the BLM Bristlecone Field Office area in Nevada. Published by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Map of Lower Campground and Trails at Sacramento Pass Recreation Area in the BLM Bristlecone Field Office area in Nevada. Published by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
https://www.nps.gov/grba
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Basin_National_Park
Great Basin National Park is in eastern Nevada near the Utah border. It's in the Great Basin Desert and contains most of the South Snake mountains. In the north, the mountain-hugging Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive leads to towering Wheeler Peak. Nearby is one of several ancient bristlecone pine groves. The marble Lehman Caves have distinctive stalactites and other formations. Park wildlife includes bighorn sheep.
From the 13,063-foot summit of Wheeler Peak to the sagebrush-covered foothills, Great Basin National Park hosts a sample of the incredible diversity of the larger Great Basin region. Come and partake of the solitude of the wilderness, walk among ancient bristlecone pines, bask in the darkest of night skies, and explore mysterious subterranean passages. There's a lot more than just desert here.
From the East or West: From U.S. Highway 6 & 50, turn south on Nevada State Highway 487 and travel 5 miles to Baker, NV. In Baker turn west on Highway 488 and travel 5 miles to the park. From the South (Utah): Travel north on Utah State Highway 21 through Milford, UT and Garrison, UT, Highway 487. Turn west on Highway 488 in Baker and travel 5 miles to the park. From the South (Nevada): Travel north on U.S. Highway 93. No public transportation is available to, or in, Great Basin National Park.
Great Basin Visitor Center
Phone: (775) 234-7520 Located just north of the town of Baker on the west side of NV Highway 487. The Visitor Center contains an information desk staffed by park rangers, exhibits about the ecology and history of the park, a theater with the park film, and brochures.
From Baker, NV take 487 .5 miles north. The Great Basin Visitor Center is on the right.
Lehman Caves Visitor Center
Phone: (775) 234-7510 Lehman Caves Visitor Center is located 5.5 miles up from the town of Baker, NV. At this visitor center visitors can plan their visit, purchase cave tour tickets, watch the park movie, and explore exhibits about the caves and the darkness of Great Basin National Park.
From Baker, NV take 488 5.5 miles to the end of the road.
Baker Creek Campground
Baker Creek Campground contains 37 campsites. All sites are available, when the campground is open (seasons permitting), on a first-come-first-served basis. Potable water is not available.
Nightly Fee
20.00
$20 per night per site. $10 for senior/access pass holders. No checks.
Baker Creek Campground Sign
Green sign with white text "Baker Creek Campground"
Baker Creek Campground is located on the Baker Creek Road
Dump Station
No overnight camping allowed. Dump Station is for dumping garbage and RV sewage.
Dump Station Fee
10.00
$10 to dump RV sewage
Dump Station
Great Basin Dump Station with sewage hose, water fill up, and dumpsters
Dump station located near Lehman Cave Visitor Center
Grey Cliffs Campground
For visitors to Great Basin National Park, Grey Cliffs Campground is an ideal place to setup and start exploring. Experience the solitude of the desert, the smell of sagebrush after a thunderstorm, the darkest of night skies, and the beauty of Lehman Caves.
Nightly Fee
20.00
$20 nightly fee for single site.
Nightly Group Fee
30.00
$30 nightly fee when using group sites.
Minimum 9 people. Maximum 12 people per site or 30 people per loop.
Grey Cliffs
Green sign with white text that says "Grey Cliffs Campground"
Grey Cliffs campground is the first left on Baker Creek Road
Lower Lehman Campground
Among the lush green vegetation which hugs Lehman Creek, you'll secure your tent or park your RV within earshot of clear mountain water which has tumbled 3000 vertical feet from the lakes and snowfields of the high Snake Range. Naturally landscaped with red-barked water birch, aspen and white fir a stroll through this sky island ecosystem provides for great bird-watching or a cooling dip in the stream while placing you just minutes from spectacular Lehman Caves.
Nightly Fee
20.00
Campsites are $20 per night per site. $10 for senior/access pass holders. No checks.
Lower Lehman Campground
Lower Lehman Campsite. Picnic table, grill, green tent, and blue skies.
Site #8
Snake Creek Primitive Campgrounds
Make yourself at home in the Snake Creek Campsites along the Snake Creek River, located on the south-eastern side of the park. These sites are nestled among Aspen groves and at the base of impressive limestone cliffs. Sites to choose from include, Monkey Rock, Squirrel Springs, Pinnacles, Eagle Peak. The Shoshone and Johnson Lake trail sites are a short 0.5 mile hike from the parking lot at the end of the Snake Creek Road.
Camping Fees
0.00
There are no camping fees for the Snake Creek Campgrounds.
All sites are First-Come-First-Served. Maximum stay is 14 days.
Snake Creek Primitive Campground
Squirrel Springs Campground sign with mountain in background
Squirrel Springs, one of six primitive campgrounds, located in the Snake Creek area.
Upper Lehman Campground
Whether you prefer the rich smell of summer mahogany riding air currents blended with the vanilla of ponderosa pine, or the sound of a clear mountain stream babbling beneath a symphony of swaying white fir, you won't regret your stay at Upper Lehman Campground. At 7500 feet in elevation and 3 miles up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive a stay at Upper Lehman is just a brief cruise from high alpine trails that will take you into the heart of the Snake Range.
Nightly Fee
20.00
Campsites are $20 per night per site. $10 for senior/access pass holders. No checks.
Upper Lehman Campsite
Picnic table, grill, empty tent pad. Surrounded by pine trees with a view of mountain tops.
Site #21
Wheeler Peak Campground
Located at 9500', Wheeler Peak campground offer a great experience camping at high elevation. Nestled in aspen groves in the shadow of Wheeler Peak, temperatures can be cold even during the summer. Potable water is not available.
Nightly Fee
20.00
The Nightly Fee covers a one night stay in one campsite.
Wheeler Peak Campground
Green sign with white text showing the way to "Wheeler Peak Campground". Snow on the ground.
Wheeler Peak Campground Sign in snow
Wheeler cirque
blue sky with green trees in mountain cirque
Trail to ancient bristlecone pine trees.
Bristlecone at night
Bristlecone pine tree with a dark blue sky behind it with a bright Jupiter shining
Planets like Jupiter shine bright at Great Basin
Lehman Caves Grand Palace Parachute formation
Brown and tan cave formation in the shape of a parachute
Lehman Caves of Great Basin National Park offers incredible views of a rare subterranean world.
Milky Way at Great Basin National Park
Colorful Milky Way over the red lit Lehman Caves Visitor Center
Come see the Milky Way at Great Basin National Park. Remember to check the moon phase.
Great Basin Visitor Center
Tan and green Visitor center with mountains in the background.
Great Basin Visitor Center just six miles from the park entrance
Alpine Flowers
White, yellow,, and pink alpine flowers.
Flowers grow even at the high altitudes of the Great Basin National Park
Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle flying with wings spread wide
Wildlife is abundant at Great Basin National Park including birds, deer, fish, and mountain lion.
Snow Covered Mountains
Snow covered mountains with brown trees in the foreground
Snow can come early, even in the fall at Great Basin.
Comet NEOWISE
Ancient bristlecone with comet NEOWISE in the background
Great Basin National Park offers truly dark-skies that rarely seen within the United States.
Cave Management Plans, Summer Bat Crew, & Biomonitoring
Development of the Lehman Caves Management Plan and Wild Caves and Karst Management Plan are nearing completion. Bat surveys, quarterly biomonitoring in Lehman Caves along with a cave climate change study were a focus of cave activity for 2017.
view out of cave opening to distant mountains and trees
Army Couple Visits 59 National Parks
When you’re a dual-military couple, it can be a challenge to try to find things to do together, especially when you’re at separate duty stations or on deployment. For one Army couple, what started out as a simple idea to get out of the house turned into a five-year adventure.
Couple standing in front of The Windows at Arches National Park.
The Sounds of Spring
When the weather warms, national parks across the country rouse from winter’s sleep. The sounds you hear in parks reflect this seasonal change. They contribute to the unique soundscape of these special places, and are among the resources that the National Park Service protects.
Sandhill cranes dance in a courtship ritual in flooded grasslands at Great Sand Dunes NP.
Wildland Fire in Douglas Fir: Western United States
Douglas fir is widely distributed throughout the western United States, as well as southern British Columbia and northern Mexico. Douglas fir is able to survive without fire, its abundantly-produced seeds are lightweight and winged, allowing the wind to carry them to new locations where seedlings can be established.
Close-up of Douglas fir bark and needles.
Bat Projects in Parks: Great Basin National Park
Bat demographics, hibernacula, occupancy, and outreach in Great Basin National Park.
View of Great Basin National Park wilderness
Wildland Fire in Ponderosa Pine: Western United States
This forest community generally exists in areas with annual rainfall of 25 inches or less. Extensive pure stands of this forest type are found in the southwestern U.S., central Washington and Oregon, southern Idaho and the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Recently burned ponderosa pine forest.
White Pines Healthy in Great Basin National Park
The Mojave Desert Network monitors two white pine species in Great Basin National Park, limber pine and Great Basin bristlecone pine. These trees are important foundation species that support wildlife and plants. However, white pines face threats from mountain pine beetles, a warming climate, and the non-native pathogen that causes white pine blister rust. Recent collaborative monitoring documented that surveyed pines are healthy, with no incidence of blister rust infection.
Great Basin bristlecone pine on a rocky mountain slope overlooking the sagebrush steppe below.
Series: Inside Earth – NPS Cave & Karst News – Summer 2017
This newsletter is produced as a forum for information and idea exchanges between National Park Service units that contain caves and karst landscapes. It also provides a historical overview and keeps partners and other interested folks aware of cave and karst management activities.
4 rangers walk through shoe cleaning station
Series: Geologic Time Periods in the Paleozoic Era
During the Paleozoic Era (541 to 252 million years ago), fish diversified and marine organisms were very abundant. In North America, the Paleozoic is characterized by multiple advances and retreats of shallow seas and repeated continental collisions that formed the Appalachian Mountains. Common Paleozoic fossils include trilobites and cephalopods such as squid, as well as insects and ferns. The greatest mass extinction in Earth's history ended this era.
fossil corals in a rock matrix
Lehman Caves Virtual Tour
Lehman Caves in Great Basin National Park is a beautiful, well-decorated cave that has been visited since 1885. But due to its remoteness and the pandemic in 2020, many people have a hard time getting to the cave in rural Nevada. Fortunately, the half-mile tour route was scanned with LiDAR in February 2020 and the resulting pointcloud was made into a high definition virtual cave tour. Now anyone with an Internet connection can visit the cave.
Person conducting LiDAR at the base of a stairway in Lehman Caves.
NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Great Basin National Park, Nevada
Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports.
park scene mountains at night
Ordovician Period—485.4 to 443.8 MYA
Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains national parks, along with the Blue Ridge Parkway that connects them, pass through rocks from the core of the Appalachian Mountains. The mountains began forming during the Ordovician and eventually attained elevations similar to those of the Himalayas.
rock with fossil brachiopod shells
Cambrian Period—541 to 485.4 MYA
The flat layers of rock exposed in Grand Canyon National Park encompass much of the Paleozoic, beginning in the Cambrian where they record an ancient shoreline.
rock with fossil burrow tracks
Paleozoic Era
During the Paleozoic Era (541 to 252 million years ago), fish diversified and marine organisms were very abundant. In North America, the Paleozoic is characterized by multiple advances and retreats of shallow seas and repeated continental collisions that formed the Appalachian Mountains. Common Paleozoic fossils include trilobites and cephalopods such as squid, as well as insects and ferns. The greatest mass extinction in Earth's history ended this era.
fossil corals in a rock matrix
Blanket Cave National Youth Park—Activity
Enjoy a fun activity and learn about caves even when you can't get out to a park. In this activity you will build your own cave and learn how to make it like a "real" natural cave. Find out about cave formations and wildlife, and how to be safe and care for caves. New "Blanket Cave National Youth Parks" are springing up all across America! Join the fun!
cartoon drawing of a childs and a park ranger exploring a cave
Plan Like a Park Ranger: Top 10 Know Before You Go
Plan like a park ranger using these top ten tips for visiting. See you along the trail!
Series: Pacific Ocean Education Team (POET) Newsletters
From 2009 to 2015, the Pacific Ocean Education Team published a series of short newsletters about the health of the ocean at various National Park Service sites in and around the Pacific Ocean. Topics covered included the 2010 tsunami, marine debris, sea star wasting disease, ocean acidification, and more.
Ocean waves wash in from the right onto a forested and rocky shoreline.
POET Newsletter Summer 2010
Pacific Ocean Education Team (POET) newsletter from Winter 2009. Articles include: Stewardship Without Boundaries: Conserving Our Ocean Ecosystem from Baja to the Bering Sea; A Seamless Network of Parks, Sanctuaries, Refuges & Reserves; Life Entwined with the Sea: The Non-Coastal Park Connection; Take the Plunge into Ocean Stewardship; Nearshore Vertebrates in Four Hawaii Parks; and Ocean Stewardship: A Commitment to Collaboration.
Sea stacks rise above ocean waves washing ashore. A wooded ridge rises in the distance.
POET Newsletter Winter 2009
Pacific Ocean Education Team (POET) newsletter from Winter 2009. Articles include: Stewardship Without Boundaries: Conserving Our Ocean Ecosystem from Baja to the Bering Sea; A Seamless Network of Parks, Sanctuaries, Refuges & Reserves; Life Entwined with the Sea: The Non-Coastal Park Connection; Engage Visitors in Ocean Park Stewardship; Inventory Map & Protect Ocean Parks; and Ocean Stewardship: A Commitment to Collaboration for Conservation.
A color map indicating the depth of the Pacific Ocean floor. Darker blue represents deeper oceans.
Saving Our Sagebrush Sea
A recent study underscores the importance of protecting sagebrush lands in national parks to prevent a national treasure from disappearing.
Sagebrush lands in front of the Teton Range in Wyoming
Changing Patterns of Water Availability May Change Vegetation Composition in US National Parks
Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios.
Green, orange, and dead grey junipers in red soil, mountains in background
Beatrice Rhodes
Beatrice Rhodes spent ten years (1920-30) as the steward of Lehman Caves in Great Basin National Park along with her first husband. Her time there coincided with the era’s burgeoning automobile tourist industry, fueling a desire among many to explore the US West and escape the pressures of urban modernity. Rhodes’ role as an advertiser, tour guide, and even entertainer at the Lehman Caves embodied this trend to seek excitement and individuality in the rural West.
Rough, single story log cabin with door and window in shrubby desert
Battle of the Bark
Trees shade us from the sun, provide homes for wildlife, stabilize Earth’s surface, and produce food for humans and animals alike. Some are massive, and others are miniscule by comparison, but what makes one better than the other—we’ll let you decide! Check out our iconic trees below and find your favorite!
Five thick barked red-brown trees are backlit by the sunlight.
Pollinators in peril? A multipark approach to evaluating bee communities in habitats vulnerable to effects from climate change
Can you name five bees in your park? Ten? Twenty? Will they all be there 50 years from now? We know that pollinators are key to maintaining healthy ecosystems—from managed almond orchards to wild mountain meadows. We have heard about dramatic population declines of the agricultural workhorse, the honey bee. Yet what do we really know about the remarkable diversity and resilience of native bees in our national parks?
Southeastern polyester bee, Colletes titusensis.
The bioblitz: Good science, good outreach, good fun
Part contest, part festival, part educational event, and part scientific endeavor, bioblitzes bring together naturalists, professional scientists, and the interested public, who canvass the area over a 24-hour period to find and document all plants and animals.
young woman gathers flying insects from a backlit white sheet at night.
Studying the Past and Predicting the Future Using Rat Nests
In the western United States, packrat middens are one of the best tools for reconstructing recent environments and climates. These accumulations of plant fragments, small vertebrate remains, rodent droppings, and other fossils can be preserved for more than 50,000 years. Packrat middens have been found in at least 41 National Park Service units.
Photo of a wood rat.
Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 14, No. 2, Fall 2022
All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing our rich fossil heritage. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/newsletters.htm">Park Paleontology news</a> provides a close up look at the important work of caring for these irreplaceable resources. <ul><li>Contribute to Park Paleontology News by contacting the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/common/utilities/sendmail/sendemail.cfm?o=5D8CD5B898DDBB8387BA1DBBFD02A8AE4FBD489F4FF88B9049&r=/subjects/geoscientistsinparks/photo-galleries.htm">newsletter editor</a></li><li>Learn more about <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/">Fossils & Paleontology</a> </li><li>Celebrate <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossilday/">National Fossil Day</a> with events across the nation</li></ul>
Photo of a person sitting while using a laboratory microscope.
Series: Geologic Time—Major Divisions and NPS Fossils
The National Park System contains a magnificent record of geologic time because rocks from each period of the geologic time scale are preserved in park landscapes. The geologic time scale is divided into four large periods of time—the Cenozoic Era, Mesozoic Era, Paleozoic Era, and The Precambrian.
photo of desert landscape with a petrified wood log on the surface
Series: Women's History in the Pacific West - California-Great Basin Collection
Biographies from Northern California, Central Valley, Sierra Nevada Mountains and Nevada
Map of northern California, Central Valley, Sierra Nevada Mountains and Nevada
Lehman Cave Area's Water and Wastewater Systems to be Rehabilitated at Great Basin National Park to Protect Long-Term Visitor Services through GAOA Funding
Great Basin National Park, with funding from the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), will rehabilitate water and wastewater systems that serve the Lehman Caves area. From the summit of Wheeler Peak to the sage-covered foothills, 150,000 annual visitors come to Great Basin National Park to enjoy the solitude of the wilderness, walk among ancient bristlecone pines, bask in dark night skies, and explore the mysterious passages of Lehman Caves.
gray rocks climbing up cave's walls. Some pointy rocks haning down from the ceilding.
Outside Science (inside parks): Rattlesnakes in Great Basin National Park
Meet biologists Meg Horner and Bryan Hamilton as they explore rattlesnake dens in Great Basin National Park.
Rattlesnake
NPS Establishes NPSage Initiative to Restore Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystems
Artemisia species, commonly known as sagebrush, are far from being the only species on the landscape. The sagebrush biome is composed of a rich mosaic of thousands of diverse plant species, which are largely driven by differences in climate, soil and elevation. These distinct sagebrush plant and animal communities occur in approximately 70 park units across the western U.S— all of which are experiencing significant threats from wildfire and droughts.
Two NPS staff knealing next to plants growing in a nursery
Understanding Woodrat Distribution
Where do woodrats live in Great Basin National Park? What do they eat? Researchers from the University of Nevada - Reno work to answer these and other questions and find some interesting results.
woodrat in cage
Uncovering the Mystery of Cave Turnips
Turnip stalactites are not your everyday speleothem. In fact, we hardly know anything about them. But due to the research of an intern, we now know a lot more, including that Lehman Caves has over 1,000 turnip stalactites!
person lying on back measuring cave turnips
Meet the 2023 USA Cave Animal of the Year: Cave Crickets!
What lives underground? The Cave Animal of the Year project hopes to spread the news about the intriguing species that call underground home. Meet the 2023 designee: cave crickets.
tan cave cricket on cave wall
Great Basin Pie Recipes
A brief history of the Lehman Caves Orchard and the pie making traditions associated with it!
Geologic Fundamentals of Great Basin National Park Caves
Caves only form in specific rock layers. This article highlights those rock layers for Great Basin National Park, as well as three different ways that caves form in the park.
cave walls with vertical lines
Top 10 Things To Know Before Visiting Great Basin
Tips from Rangers to be prepared for a visit in the summer of 2023
Series: Summer 2023 Issue of The Midden
The Midden is the Resource Management Newsletter of Great Basin National Park, published each summer and winter. Find out the latest going on at Great Basin National Park in resource management and research, including: * Understanding Woodrat Distribution * Turnip Stalactites * Cave Animal of the Year * Fundamentals of Cave Geology To find past issues, visit: https://www.nps.gov/grba/learn/news/midden.htm
ranger next to table of small mammal skeletons and skins
Bats Are in Danger. Here’s How and Why We’re Helping Them.
Bats are amazing animals and a formidable force against insect pests, but a nasty fungal disease is killing them. A coordinated national response brings hope.
GIF of a bat with big ears in a gloved hand, rotating its head and opening and closing its mouth.
Project Profile: Develop Native Plant Capacity for Sagebrush Parks
The National Park Service will establish a native seed collection and plant propagation facility on the Oregon State University (OSU)-Cascades Campus, in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and private industry.
a sagebrush steppe environment adjacent to a yellow aspen grove on a hillside
Project Profile: Build Resilient Sagebrush Neighborhoods
The National Park Service will implement nature-based solutions to rapid, fire driven, transformations that are occurring in parks across the sagebrush biome, using the Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework and the Sagebrush Conservation Design. The National Park Service will achieve lasting benefits through partnerships and pooling funding sources. Work will occur in eight parks across the Intermountain and Pacific West Regions.
a sagebrush bush and a bag full of sagebrush seeds
Park News
Great Basin National Park
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
The Midden
The Resource Management Newsletter of Great Basin National Park
Strawberry Fire Burned Area Rehabilitation and Restoration
The lightning-ignited Strawberry
Fire was reported on August 8, 2016
in upper Strawberry Creek in Great
Basin National Park. Aided by strong
winds, the fire quickly grew, burning
a large portion of the canyon and
pushing the fire down-canyon onto
BLM and private lands. The fire was
declared controlled on August 23,
2016 after 4,656 acres burned, with
2,790 acres on NPS and 1,769 acres
on Bureau of Land Management
lands. The fire consumed a mix of
habitat types. The dominant plant
communities impacted in the park
were montane sagebrush steppe
(1,148 acres), pinyon-juniper (667
acres), aspen (597 acres), mountain
mahogany (209 acres) and montane
riparian (42 acres).
After the fire, resource management
staff prepared a Burned Area
Rehabilitation (BAR) plan to address
and mitigate natural resource issues
created or exacerbated by the fire.
Plan objectives were 1) prevent the
establishment of non-native invasive
plants to enable the restoration and
establishment of a healthy, stable
ecosystem 2) revegetate lands
unlikely to recover naturally post-fire
and 3) replace minor infrastructure
destroyed by the fire.
The park selected several strategies
to meet BAR plan objectives for
native vegetation recovery including
aerial seeding and invasive plant
management. Preventing the
Summer 2017
Photo by Brian Flynn
By Meg Horner, Biologist
Native lupine growing after the Strawberry Fire.
establishment of invasive forbs and
annual grasses, mainly cheatgrass
(Bromus tectorum), following fire
is critical to protect and maintain
healthy, resilient plant communities.
Cheatgrass invades recently burned
sites, particularly pinyon-juniper
woodlands and sagebrush-steppe,
and can maintain dominance
for decades. Not only does this
compromise native plant recovery,
but it also adversely affects soil
stabilization and fire return intervals.
Non-native invasive forbs such as
bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare), spotted
knapweed (Centaurea stoebe), and
whitetop (Cardaria draba) exploit
soil and vegetation disturbances
following wildfires and fire
suppression activities. They can then
outcompete native vegetation for
limited resources, negatively affect
soils and discourage use by wildlife.
A total of 894 acres in the park were
determined to be at-risk of invasion
and recommended for aerial seeding.
Aerial seeding was completed on
February 12 -13, 2017 with support
from the Nevada Department of
Continued on Page 2
In This Issue
Strawberry Fire Rehabilitation.....1
Steps to BCT Recovery................3
Stalagmites Show Drying Trend..4
Fuel Loads near Bristlecones.....5
Results of Bird BioBlitz..............6
New Publications......................7
Long Term Ecological Research..8
2017 Lichen BioBlitz.................10
Volume 17 Issue 1
Bags of seed for restoration in the
Ely Seed Warehouse.
diverse, native plant community will
benefit park- and BLM-managed
lands along with private landowners
by stabilizing soils, slowing runoff
after precipitation events, preventing
the establishment of invasive plants,
and providing forage and habitat for
wildlife. Establishing native species
is a more cost effective strategy
than trying to restore native plant
communities from annual grass
monocultures or sites dominated by
invasive forbs.
NPS Photo by Margaret Horner
Restoration and monitoring will
continue for the next several years.
Additional seeding efforts may be
Aerial seeding objectives supported
needed depending on establishment
those outlined in the BAR plan
success and persistence of native
focusing on the restoration of native
plants seeded this winter. In arid
plant communities and minimizing
regions, precipitation is highly
the establishment of invasive forbs
variable, causing uncertainty and
and annual grasses. Restoring a
high failure rates in
germination and seedling
establishment. Recent
reviews of the factors
limiting seeding success
have recommended a “bet
hedging” strategy (Madsen
et al. 2016). Rather than
applying seed at high
rates during a single fall
seeding, seed is applied at
lower rates, with multiple
seedings at varying times
of year. With multiple
Helicopter returning with empty hopper after
seeding.
2 The Midden
seedings, native species have more
opportunity to utilize soil moisture
conditions maximizing the probability
of establishment.
Both the park and BLM will be
monitoring vegetation to document
post-fire recovery and the success of
revegetation efforts. The BLM has
partnered with the USDA Agriculture
Resource Service to monitor biological
soil crusts and dust flux (particles/
m2/second). Portable weather stations
have also been installed on NPS and
BLM lands to measure precipitation,
temperature, soil moisture, and wind.
Invasive plant surveys and treatments
are already underway. R
The Bristlecone
The official newspaper of Great Basin National Park
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Summer 2016 - Spring 2017
Do not throw this paper in trash! Recycle after use!
In Your Park________________2
Park Rules and Safety________3
Centennial Schedule_________4
Explore 5 More____________5
Trail Guide_______________6-7
Local Services_______________8
Campsite Guide____________8
Protect Your Park___________9
What is the Great Basin?___10
Park Partners__________10-11
Map_____________________12
Kids
nps.gov/kids
Teachers
nps.gov/teachers
Volunteer
nps.gov/getinvolved
Discover Nature
nature.nps.gov
Mailing Address
Great Basin National Park
5500 W. Hwy 488
Baker, NV 89311
Websites
nps.gov/grba
facebook.com/GreatBasinNPS
Grey Cliffs Campground &
Cave Tour Reservations
recreation.gov
(877) 444-6777
Locate Night Skies
nature.nps.gov/night
Park Information and
Questions
(775) 234-7331
Understand Climate
nps.gov/climatechange
After Hours
Non-Emergency Help
(702) 293-8998
Examine Biology
nature.nps.gov/biology
Notice Natural Sounds
nature.nps.gov/sound
Investigate Geology
nature.nps.gov/geology
Emergencies
911
The Great Basin Observatory
Great Basin National Park is
not only a wonderful place to
recreate, it is also an extremely
valuable laboratory to conduct
scientific research.
page 11), has raised funds
to build the Great Basin
Observatory, the first researchclass astronomical observatory
in a national park.
The park has some of the darkest
night skies in the United States
and has drawn thousands of
people to the exciting experience
of seeing a primeval night
sky. It is also an ideal spot to
conduct astronomical research.
In celebration of the National
Park Service Centennial (2016),
the Great Basin National Park
Foundation, the park’s nonprofit partner (see article on
The Great Basin Observatory
will feature a 0.7-meter (28
inch) telescope with special
cameras to capture images of
deep space objects. It will be a
fully autonomous and robotic
astronomical observatory,
meaning scientists and students
from all over the world will be
able to use its instrumentation to
conduct research without having
to be located on-site. Potential
research topics include galaxy
detection, extra-solar planet
discovery, asteroid and comet
observation, and supernova
studies. The observatory will
be used by various groups of
researchers from university
scientists to elementary and high
school students of the Great
Basin, and beyond.
The Great Basin Observatory
is a cooperative effort of the
Park, the Foundation, and
four universities: University
of Nevada, Reno; Western
Nevada College (Carson City,
NV); Southern Utah University
(Cedar City, UT); and Concordia
University (Irvine, CA). The
observatory will be used to
educate and inspire scientists
and park visitors about the
wonders of our National Parks
and Universe. As the National
Park Service celebrates its 100th
anniversary in 2016, there is
no better time to expand our
definition of parks and ensure
their preservation for future
generations. Our national
parks provide opportunities for
recreation, to learn our history,
to protect our most vulnerable
species, and now to peer into the
universe and contemplate our
place in it.
2016 Great Basin
Astronomy Festival
September 29 - October 1
Join park rangers and
experience out of this world
family fun, excitement, and
learn about day and nighttime
astronomy.
Astronomy Programs
On a clear, moonless night
in Great Basin National
Park, thousands of stars, five
of our solar system’s eight
planets, star clusters, meteors,
manmade satellites, the
Andromeda Galaxy, and the
Milky Way can be seen with
the naked eye. The area boasts
some of the darkest night skies
left in the United States. Low
humidity and minimal light
pollution, combined with
high elevation, create a unique
window into the universe.
The Lost and Found Report
“Why would you leave your rifle
and not come back?”
Numerous questions surround
the small piece of American
heritage found and recovered
by Great Basin National Park
archaeologists in November,
2014. A 132 year-old rifle,
exposed to sun, wind, and
snow, found leaning against
2 The Bristlecone
a tree in the park, attracted
worldwide attention through
social media. The cracked wood
stock, weathered to grey, and
the brown rusted barrel blended
into the colors of the old juniper
tree in a remote rocky outcrop,
keeping the rifle hidden for many
years.
“Model 1873” distinctively
engraved on the mechanism
identifies the rifle as the
Winchester Model 1873
repeating rifle. The serial
number in Winchester company
records held at the Buffalo Bill
Center of the West museum
in Cody, Wyoming indicates
the gun was shipped from the
factory in 1882, but the detailed
history of this rifle is unknown.
The mystery fueled imagination
and prompted numerous
theories of when and why the
gun was abandoned.
Assisting with conservation, the
Buffalo Bill Center identified a
cartridge through x-ray imag