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Joshua Tree National Park

Infrastructure Changes are Needed

Most of the visitor infrastructure at the park was designed and built in the early 90's when visitation was less than 1 million visitors per year. Today, park visitation is over 3 million visitors and existing infrastructure needs to be updated and expanded, and new infrastructure is needed to help disperse visitors to other parts of the park. And, as is the case with the Construction of the New West Entrance Station, staff facilities need to be addressed as well.

Visitor Use Management Planning

And, with the sharp increase in visitors, the park needs to develop visitor use management plans to ensure the resources of Joshua Tree National Park are left unimpaired for future generations. The best example of visitor use management planning is the Climbing Management Plan that is currently under development. Much more visitor use management will be happening in future years such as Overnight Use Plan, Backcountry Management Plan, and New Lands Plan. All visitor use management planning takes a lot of time, effort, and public involvement. These planning efforts are multi-year and are unlikely to be done concurrently with other visitor use plans.

Keep up to date on all of the planning happening at Joshua Tree National Park by subscribing to our park planning newsletter.

Archived Newsletters

• Planning Newsletter November 2022: In this newsletter we share an update for the Climbing Management Plan and notes from the Annual Climbing Guides Meeting.
• Planning Newsletter August 2022: In this newsletter we share updates on the Wilderness Backpacking Permit Program, the Climbing Management Plan, Commercial Use Permit Costs, and the West Entrance Fee Station.
• Planning Newsletter May 10, 2022: In this newsletter we share updates to the Climbing Management Plan and answer common questions about the plan.
• Planning Newsletter February 18, 2022: In this newsletter we announce the extended public scoping period for the Climbing Management Plan.
• Planning Newsletter February 10, 2022: In this newsletter we announce the Environmental Analysis for the West Entrance and share a Climbing Management Plan update.
• Planning Newsletter January 2022: In this newsletter we announce the public scoping for the Climbing Management Plan and share news on the Barker Dam Parking Lot Expansion.
• Planning Newsletter August 2021: In this newsletter we requested public comment on two proposed projects: Construct New West Entrance; and Barker Dam Parking Lot Expansion.
• Planning Newsletter June 2021: This newsletter provided planning updates for: Campground Fee Increase; Climbing Management Plan; and Zone Change / Desired Conditions.
• Planning Newsletter May 2021: This newsletter focused on our public outreach for the Climbing Management Plan, including a summary of why the plan is necessary.
• Planning Newsletter April 2021: This is our inaugural planning newsletter. We describe how we will be using the newsletter and provide a preview of upcoming projects.