Bright Star Wilderness is a
wilderness area
Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
in
Kern County
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...
in the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
state of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
The
California Desert Protection Act of 1994
The California Desert Protection Act of 1994 is a federal law () sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein, passed by the United States Congress on October 8, 1994, and signed into effect by President Bill Clinton on October 31 of the same year, that ...
(Public Law 103–433) added the wilderness to the
National Wilderness Preservation System and it is administered by the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Bright Star Wilderness surrounds Kern County's Kelso Peak and drainages to the north, south and east, including Bright Star Canyon and Cortez Canyon.
The Wilderness lies within the BLM's
Jawbone-Butterbredt Area of Critical Environmental Concern in the higher
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...
and protects much of the Piute Mountains, of the southern
Sierra Nevada (not to be confused with the
Piute Mountains to east in
Mojave National Preserve
Mojave National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, USA, between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The preserve was established October 31, 1994, with the passage of ...
).
Vegetation
A wide variety of vegetation grows in the Bright Star Wilderness. The upper slopes of Kelso Peak are dotted with
Single-leaf piñon pine (''Pinus monophylla'') and
California juniper (''Juniperus californica''), while the lower slopes are brushy and broken by large granite outcroppings. The valley below the peak is dense with
Joshua trees (''Yucca brevifolia'').
See also
*
List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
The National Wilderness Preservation System includes 803 wilderness areas protecting of federal land . They are managed by four agencies:
*United States National Park Service (NPS)
*United States Forest Service (USFS)
*United States Fish and Wild ...
*
Wilderness Act
The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lon ...
References
External links
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{{authority control
Protected areas of Kern County, California
Protected areas of the Mojave Desert
Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Wilderness areas of California
Bureau of Land Management areas in California