Wilderness

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
California

Hollister Field Office

Originally referred to as the "Ventana Wilderness Additions" to the U.S. Forest Service Los Padres National Forest - Ventana Wilderness, these lands are the Bureau of Land Management Hollister Field Office's only formally classified Wilderness. Collectively the additions came from CA-040-305A Black Butte RARE II Contiguous (40 acres "Anastasia Canyon"), CA-040-308 Ventana Wilderness Contiguous (680 acres "Black Rock"), and a very small portion of CA-040-305B Bear Mountain RARE II Contiguous (16 acres "Horse Canyon").

Ventana Wilderness
Located in Monterey County adjacent to the Los Padres National Forest Ventana Wilderness
No public access
736 acres
BLM "Ventana Wilderness" Maps ("Anastasia Canyon," "Black Rock," and "Horse Canyon" Additions)

Bureau of Land Management California "Ventana Wilderness" Information Web Page

Wilderness Study Areas

The following descriptions are for lands that were inventoried for Wilderness in 1979 (Final Intensive Inventory: Public Lands Administered by BLM California outside the California Desert Conservation Area: Wilderness) but were only classified as "Wilderness Study Areas" or "WSAs."

Bear Canyon and Bear Mountain WSA's
Located in Monterey County adjacent to Los Padres National Forest.
No public access
318 acres
Bear Canyon RARE II Contiguous Wilderness Study Area (CA-040-305C)
3,198 acres
Bear Mountain RARE II Contiguous Wilderness Study Area (CA-040-305B)

Panoche Hills North and South WSA's
Located in Fresno County adjacent to the Panoche-Coalinga Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Public access via Panoche Access Road
6,667 acres
Panoche Hills North Wilderness Study Area (CA-040-301A)
11,267 acres
Panoche Hills South Wilderness Study Area (CA-040-301B)

San Benito Mountain Instant Study Area
Located in San Benito County within the boundaries of the Clear Creek Serpentine Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Determined unsuitable for Wilderness classification but designated as San Benito Mountain Research Natural Area
Currently no public access
1,500 acres
San Benito Mountain Wilderness Study Area (CA-040-309)

Pinnacles Wilderness

The Bureau of Land Management Pinnacles Wilderness (formerly designated as Pinnacles Wilderness (CA-040-303) - 5,838 acres) passed from Bureau of Land Management ownership and became a welcome addition to the National Park Service Pinnacles National Park in 2000.

One tool used to preserve America’s natural heritage is the Antiquities Act, which allows a President to create national monuments on federal land to protect "objects of historic and scientific interest." The Act was first used by President Theodore Roosevelt who created the Grand Canyon National Monument which later became Grand Canyon National Park.

The Antiquities Act authority was used to create a 7,900 acre expansion of Pinnacles National Park to preserve unique geologic formations, the watershed, and important habitat for species including golden eagles, prairie falcons, red-tailed hawks and the California Condor.

Did you know that most of the land within Pinnacles National Park is considered wilderness?

Rick Cooper, Field Manager
Bureau of Land Management
Hollister Field Office
20 Hamilton Court
Hollister, CA 95023
Phone: (831) 630-5000
Fax: (831) 630-5055
Office Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., M-F
Contact us by Email