COMMISSION

Outreach and Education
The San Andreas District installed orientation kiosks at key destinations, staging areas, and
along major travel routes to inform visitors about the SVRA boundaries, regulations, and
other pertinent information.
The OHMVR Division statewide OHV law enforcement program has several funded Pacific
Crest Trail kiosks that are installed in and around the SVRA. Interpretive content describes
local plant and animal species, conservation messaging, and clearly show areas where
OHV riding is allowed and/or prohibited.
Friends of Jawbone (FOJ) is a non-profit organization that supports
the BLM Ridgecrest Field Office in their operations and maintenance,
restoration, and outreach. The FOJ operates the Jawbone Station
Visitor Center, which is located at the intersection of State Route 14 and
Jawbone Canyon Road. The visitor center provides detailed recreation
maps, guidebooks, and information about the region, including Eastern
Kern County, Onyx Ranch SVRA, and visitor amenities such as exhibits,
restrooms, picnic areas, native plant garden, and meeting rooms.
The California Trail Users Coalition (CTUC) is a non-profit organization
that publishes recreation maps. The CTUC received OHV grants to
develop and produce the maps. The Friends of Jawbone map includes
motorized and non-motorized trails and information about Eastern Kern
County, Onyx Ranch SVRA, Jawbone OHV Open Area, Dove Springs Open Area, Jawbone
Canyon, and surrounding areas.
Park History
The southeast region of the Sierra Nevada, bordering on the vast Mojave Desert, is
the ancestral home of the Niwi or Kawaiisu people. For 2,000 years these relatives of
the nearby Paiute and Shoshone peoples lived in small villages close to streams and
ephemeral springs, and ranged far and wide for food, as well as for salt, from nearby Koehn
dry lake.
In 1776 Father Francisco Garces, the first European to cross the Mojave Desert and enter
the San Joaquin Valley, returned to Arizona via Bird Spring Pass and Canyon. Fifty years
later, Jedediah Smith was an early pioneer in the area and the first American to lead a
party across the Great Basin. Other intrepid explorers included Joseph Walker and John C.
Fremont, both of whose names grace the landscape today.
2017 Program Report 191