Mitchell Caverns State Park

 Mitchell Caverns State Park, inside the Mojave National Preserve, was the only California park that was closed after

extensive deliberations over budget cutbacks.


The California State Parks system has a reputation to maintain -- as one of the state's most inefficient bureaucracies.

The Blair Ranch STILL uses this to graze cattle!!

So when the park closed, officials simply locked the gate. The cost of re-opening --sometime this summer -- is estimated at over $450,000.00. They didn't drain the water lines and, of course, the pipes burst. In addition, vandals and animals caused further damage.

Beavertail Cactus

Grazing is allowed in the Preserve which borders the State Park. There's a fence surrounding the Park - with a broken gate that allows easy entry to cattle - but it's obvious that the land on the Park side is in better condition, plant-wise, than the grazed side. It makes me angry that even now, decades after the initial devastation by cattle, the depredation continues. And if you Google depredation (this link is about the payouts -- yours & my tax monies) what you get is all about wildlife....nothing about the damage perpetrated by cattle, sheep and their human exploiters.