Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

Adjacent to Death Valley National Park is Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. This area preserves a number of different species found nowhere else in the world. There are a few different boardwalks over the floodplain.

Date of visit: January 28, 2024

We met an incredible set of rangers on our walk along the boardwalk right off the visitor's center. They were clearly on a snack break and stopped to pet Piper. This was when I learned about staffing within the public lands systems. The woman we spoke with had worked at many different units before taking on a permanent management position at Ash Meadows, usually for no more than 6 months to a year at a time. From her office at this visitor's center, she was also responsible for managing five other units, some more than a couple hours away. 

We also talked about what I was doing as a teacher from the parks and the opportunities I might be able to pursue if I ever chose to join the park service or serve as a ranger on public lands. It was super inspiring and got me thinking about what my future might look like if I ever chose to leave teaching and coaching.

I do not think this little guy was one of the protected species in the refuge, but it was a surprising greeting and motivation for Piper to get the hike started by looking around to figure out where it went.

Since the endangered species we wanted to see wasn't visible on the first boardwalk trail, we drove a bit further along to try another one. There are at least five different members of the plant kingdom clumped together here. Water that drains off the road gathers and creates a literal living on the edge environment.

 

A weird thing about the desert I didn't realize until I got there was how easily it can flood. These are some clear outlines of where the water flows when it rains.

Piper is feeling pretty uncertain about the boardwalk at this point since she can hear the water flowing beneath us (scary!) and yet cannot see it through the desiccated plant life.

When I recorded this, you could hear the rustling of the leaves and branches in the wind. It was a truly peaceful, full-sensory moment.

A fabulous oasis in a vast landscape of desert. Sadly, this one was not for swimming; to protect the wildlife. There was a larger one we didn't visit where we could have hopped in. However, it was still winter in the desert and while the sun was warm, the air was cool.

Y'all, I was so excited when I finally found a pool of the desert pupfish we had been hiking to see.

This is what we came for: desert pupfish. The craziest thing about them is that within a couple of square miles, there are a few different subspecies of pupfish that have all evolved to meet the conditions of their specific pool of water in the desert.

First glance look at the pool and it is hard to spot fish life under the surface.

If you lean closer and stay still, suddenly there is an awful lot of action happening, pupfish style.

This unexpected stop on the trip was encouraged by a ranger at the visitor's center in Death Valley National Park, enroute to a non-adjacent part of the park that is literally in another state. They could tell how excited I was to get to see these miraculous examples of survival and evolution and knew my chances were higher at the wildlife refuge.

If you are ever wondering why a park needs interpretive rangers, this is one of the reasons. Yes, there were signs and boardwalks, but I never would have gotten there if I hadn't connected with various park rangers along the way.

If you are ever wondering why it is important to not commercialize public lands, the desert pupfish are an excellent example. They have been surviving in the desert for longer than human civilization has existed. Read that again: desert pupfish have been there for 10 to 20 THOUSAND years. That's at least 4,000 years before the first human civilizations.

We have to protect public lands and the stewards of those lands who make it possible for us to preserve them for generations to come.

I have so many more parks to recap for you from just four months of road-tripping. Keep coming back to learn more about all the magical places that have been preserved and protected for YOU!