Coachella Valley

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The Coachella Valley, located in central Riverside County, California, is a low-desert environment surrounded by steeply rising mountains to the southwest and north.  The valleys and canyons form a desert oasis replete with scenic vistas, localized water, natural biodiversity, cultural heritage and recreational opportunities.  In a collaborative effort to protect the values which have attracted many residents and visitors, federal, state and local governments, as well as local groups and interests, are developing the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (CVMSHCP).  The plan would establish a reserve system to protect biodiversity while facilitating development in other parts of the Coachella Valley.  As a partner, the BLM proposes to provide a portion of the Federal share towards development and implementation of the CVMSHCP.  To ensure BLM's land management actions are consistent with the goals and objectives of the CVMSHCP, BLM is in the process of amending the California Desert Conservation Area Plan (CDCA Plan; 1980 as amended).

The BLM currently manages three preserves with visitor facilities within the Coachella Valley area: the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve/ Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard ACEC, and the Dos Palmas Preserve/ACEC. These preserves provide an important components of a system of opens space areas and habitats for threatened and endangered species and migratory birds traveling along the Pacific Migration Flyway developed as part of a joint Habitat Conservation Plan with local jurisdictions.  These preserves also provide the scenic setting for non-motorized trail use and for outdoor classrooms for grade school- through university-level field trips. BLM  also supports local efforts to exchange or acquire lands as part of the federal share of the cost to assemble the open space reserve system.  The BLM managed areas include diverse habitats,  including open water in ponds, streams, marshes, closed canopy cover of trees, open scrub, sand dunes, and rocky slopes, among others.

The BLM -managed public lands also support local communities by facilitating local sources of sand and gravel, wind energy for California, communications sites and other infrastructure needs.  BLM works with local communities, as well as other federal, state and local agencies and interests, to ensure the public lands are providing the right mix of land uses, while conserving the natural, cultural, scenic, and recreational values that make the valley a high quality place to live.

There are designated wilderness areas at either end of the Coachella Valley, the Santa Rosa Mountains Wilderness on the west end and the Mecca Hills and San Gorgonio Wildernesses on the east end.

The core of the Coachella Valley is largely private land, much of it developed or developing.  The current population is approximately 270,000 and the valley includes some of the closest public land areas to the Los Angeles basin, immediately to the west.

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