Salt Creek Environmental Assessment Public Comment

The public comment period on the Salt Creek Boardwalk Replacement Project Environmental Assessment is open from May 22 through June 23, 2024. A previous round of civic engagement in March 2023 helped park staff refine the project designs and provided valuable input as to which environmental considerations would be carried forward for further analysis.

The public is invited to submit written comments on the environmental assessment at the project website. Written comments may be submitted online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/SaltCreekEA and selecting "Open for Comment" on the left menu bar. Written comments may also be submitted by mail to:

Death Valley National Park
ATTN: Salt Creek Boardwalk Replacement
P.O. Box 579
Death Valley, CA 92328

About the Salt Creek Boardwalk Replacement Project / Environmental Assessment:

The National Park Service is proposing to reconstruct the Salt Creek boardwalk and related infrastructure in Death Valley National Park, which was damaged by flooding in 2022 and 2023. Design and construction of the project would be conducted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Central Federal Lands Highway Division, which is a cooperating agency in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.

The purpose of the project is to restore viewing, interpretive, and educational opportunities for visitors, including those with limited mobility, to see and learn about Salt Creek and the Salt Creek pupfish, while protecting the species and its fragile habitat and maintaining the integrity of the surrounding wilderness area.

Salt Creek is the only location in the world where Salt Creek pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus salinus) occur. Providing accessible viewing, interpretive, and educational opportunities while simultaneously protecting the species and its habitat requires infrastructure. Without appropriate infrastructure, visitors create social trails by walking around the creek. These trails disturb the fish's habitat and life cycle, as well as that of other wildlife that use the creek, and they harden soil, damage vegetation, increase sedimentation, and limit suitable soil conditions for healthy vegetation, especially salt grass (Distichlis spicata) and pickleweed (Allenrolfea occidentalis). Loss of vegetation decreases shading along the creek, which is a critical component of the pupfish's habitat.

The park would reconstruct the road, parking lot, vault toilet, and boardwalk at Salt Creek. The park would also remove damaged infrastructure from the creek channel. The park would restore the road to its pre-flood condition, restoring visitor vehicle access to the site. The 1.2-mile-long road would follow the previous alignment, with minor adjustments at the end to connect to a new parking lot location. The park would also reconstruct the parking lot to a similar capacity as the previous lot but with an improved layout. The site, which is currently closed to vehicle access due to the damage, would also be closed to pedestrian access during construction, which is estimated to occur from approximately fall 2024 through spring 2025.

Document Content:

Salt Creek draft EA.pdf   (5.4 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.