Mormon Peak right-of-way application: civic engagement

Death Valley National Park is reviewing a right-of-way permit application for continued operation and maintenance of an existing microwave relay facility on Mormon Peak. Without this communications relay facility, there would be no landline or cell phone connection in the park. This is not a cell tower, only a point-to-point microwave relay.

Due to Death Valley National Park's remote location, there are no phone lines or fiber cables connecting it to the outside world. Instead, there are a series of facilities transmitting voice and data to and from the park using directional microwave antennas.

AT&T constructed the Mormon Peak facility in 1982. At the time it was on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In 1994, Congress transferred roughly one million acres of BLM land to Death Valley National Park, which included Mormon Peak. At the same time, Congress designated 93% of the park as wilderness, including Mormon Peak. This created controversy because permanent structures and commercial activities are prohibited in wilderness. Congress resolved this conflict in 2019 by specifically authorizing operation and maintenance of the Mormon Peak telecommunications facility in the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act.

AT&T did not make substantial upgrades to the technology in use on Mormon Peak for many years due to the site's wilderness status. As connectivity increased across the world, the total capacity through Mormon Peak remains 90 mbps. This is bandwidth is split between land lines and two cell towers being used by 450 residents of Death Valley and thousands of park visitors. During high-use times, it is often not possible to make phone calls, even to request or coordinate emergency medical services.

AT&T's proposed upgrades would increase the total bandwidth to 1.5 Gbps, and allow the cell towers at Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells to be added to the FirstNet system, which gives emergency responders priority use.

AT&T requests a right-of-way permit to operate, maintain, and upgrade the existing microwave facility. If approved, the right-of-way would be for a term of 10 years. AT&T can apply for a renewal, but this is not guaranteed. AT&T would be required to remove all facilities and equipment within 6 months of the termination of the right-of-way permit.

AT&T would use helicopters to access the roadless site.

The existing 35-foot-tall lattice tower would remain. The existing equipment shelter would be removed and replaced by a 6-foot by 10-foot equipment shelter adjacent to the tower. Existing solar panels on the tower would be replaced with larger solar panels. A lightning rod would be added and a directional microwave antenna.

Mormon Peak is in the southern Panamint Mountains. The attached file "Mormon Peak tower and lightning rod viewshed map" shows the locations within the park that do not have obstructions blocking line-of-sight to Mormon Peak. However, the existing 35-foot-tall gray-colored lattice tower with solar panels on top is not visible to the naked eye from most of these locations. The proposed larger solar panels and lightning rod are not expected to be visible to the naked eye from many park locations either.

There will be no lights on the facility, so there will be no impacts to night skies.

The file "Project description.pdf" has a project description, history of the site, and photo simulations of the proposed additions.

Document Content:

Mormon Peak tower and lightning rod viewshed map.pdf   (2.3 MB, PDF file) Project description.pdf   (3.6 MB, PDF file) Disclaimer: Links within the above document(s) were valid as of the date published. Note: Some of the files may be in PDF format and can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. You may download a free copy of from Adobe Systems.