Natural History Wanderings

Look low: Many wildflowers in the desert are incredibly low-growing. They conserve valuable energy and minimize exposure to strong wind and harsh sun.

Move slow: Watch your step and avoid stepping on vegetation and flowers. If you aren’t careful, you may accidentally crush or trample wildflowers or plant vegetation before they have bloomed.

Stay on the trail, and let the wildflowers prevail: Off-trail travel, whether on foot or in a vehicle, can be damaging. It compresses soils, limiting the availability of air, water, and nutrients to roots, and can lead to the decline and death of vegetation. Staying on trail minimizes your impact on fragile plants making their home in the desert.

Don’t take flowers; take pictures instead: The potential for future flowers decreases for each flower removed. Please take a photo of them instead of picking the flowers, so they can live on to be pollinated and disperse seeds. Picking vegetation in the park is prohibited.

Flowers are essential to the success of the whole ecosystem. By helping protect them, you help ensure they’ll be around for years to come.