Milpitas Wash Wilderness is a protected

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

to the south of the Palo Verde Mountains and to the west of

Cibola National Wildlife Refuge Cibola National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge in the floodplain of the lower Colorado River between Arizona and California and surrounded by a fringe of desert ridges and washes. The refuge encompasses both the historic Colo ...

and the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

Imperial County, California Imperial County is a county located on the southeast border of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 179,702, ranking as the least populous county in Southern California. The county seat and largest city is ...

. Established in 2019 by the U.S. Congress, the area is managed by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

. Wildlife includes the

desert tortoise The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii'') is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave Desert, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico ...

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

long-eared owl The long-eared owl (''Asio otus''), also known as the northern long-eared owlOlsen, P.D. & Marks, J.S. (2019). ''Northern Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)''. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook o ...

, leaf nosed bat, Merriam's and

desert kangaroo rat The desert kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys deserti'') is a rodent species in the family Heteromyidae that is found in desert areas of southwestern North America. It is one of the large kangaroo rats, with a total length greater than and a mass greater ...

, long-tailed and little pocket mice,

Bullock's Bullock's was a chain of full-line department stores from 1907 through 1995, headquartered in Los Angeles, growing to operate across California, Arizona and Nevada. Bullock's also operated as many as seven more upscale Bullocks Wilshire specialt ...

and

hooded oriole The hooded oriole (''Icterus cucullatus'') is a medium-sized New World oriole. The male of this species ranges in color from a bright orange to a paler yellow, with a black back, face, tail and bib, with the wing containing two white bars. The fe ...

towhee A towhee is any one of a number of species of birds in the genus ''Pipilo'' or ''Melozone'' within the family Passerellidae (which also includes American sparrows and juncos). Towhees typically have longer tails than other Passerellidae. Most sp ...

white-crowned sparrow The white-crowned sparrow (''Zonotrichia leucophrys'') is a species of passerine bird native to North America. A medium-sized member of the New World sparrow family, this species is marked by a grey face and black and white streaking on the upp ...

Brewer's sparrow Brewer's sparrow (''Spizella breweri'') is a small, slim species of American sparrow in the family Passerellidae. This bird was named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer. Description and systematics Adults have grey-brown backs and spe ...

warbler Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers T ...

black-headed grosbeak The black-headed grosbeak (''Pheucticus melanocephalus'') is a medium-sized, seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the rose-breasted grosbeak (''P. ludovicianus'') with which it hybridizes on th ...

diamondback rattlesnake Diamondback rattlesnake may refer to: *'' Crotalus adamanteus'', a.k.a. the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, a venomous pitviper species found in the southeastern United States. *'' Crotalus atrox'', a.k.a. the western diamondback rattlesnake, a ve ...

, and the endangered

Gila woodpecker The Gila woodpecker (''Melanerpes uropygialis'') is a medium-sized woodpecker of the desert regions of the southwestern United States and western Mexico. In the U.S., they range through southeastern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, and New M ...

. Home to the largest

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...

woodland in North America, trees in Milpitas Wash include

mesquite Mesquite is a common name for some plants in the genera ''Neltuma'' and '' Strombocarpa'', which contain over 50 species of spiny, deep-rooted leguminous shrubs and small trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. Until 2022, these ge ...

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

, palo verde, and

ironwood Ironwood is a common name for many woods that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is denser than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in English ma ...

.Milpitas Wash Wilderness
- Wilderness Connect

References

External links

Milpitas Wash Wilderness
- California Wilderness Coalition
Fact Sheet
- California Wilderness Coalition IUCN Category Ib Wilderness areas of California Protected areas of Imperial County, California Protected areas established in 2019 2019 establishments in California {{ImperialCountyCA-geo-stub

See also

References

External links