Mitchell Caverns in Eastern Mojave reopening in November

California State Park officials have announced that remote Providence Mountains State Recreation Area and its popular Mitchell Caverns in the eastern Mojave Desert will reopen November 3 after nearly seven years. The recreation area will initially be open Friday through Sunday. (COURTESY OF CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS)

By SUZANNE HURT
The Press-Enterprise

Popular Mitchell Caverns in the eastern Mojave Desert’s Providence Mountains will re-open on a limited schedule in early November, a state park official said Friday, Sept. 8.

Providence Mountains State Recreation Area between Barstow and Needles – and its limestone caves — have been closed since January 2011 over infrastructure issues, including a bad well.

Park officials are hiring, while fans of the caverns, one of only two public “show caves” in Southern California, are rejoicing via social media.

State parks’ Tehachapi District Acting Superintendent Russ Dingman said he was thrilled to announce the re-opening, which comes in time for the fall busy season.

“I think it’s one of the hidden jewels of the state parks department,” he said.

The remote park will be open for day use only from 8 a.m. Friday through Sunday and on holidays starting Nov. 3 until more staff is hired.

Two tours will be offered daily, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The campground is expected to open in about six months. The closest campground is nearby Hole-In-The-Wall Campground in Mojave National Preserve. There also are motels in Barstow and Needles, Dingman said.

Park officials are now hiring seasonal park aides and maintenance aides.

State park officials had hoped to reopen the state recreation area in May or June. That was delayed until a septic tank could be replaced and trail work finished after the heat of summer passed.

For more information, check out parks.ca.gov/ or call 760-928-2586.

Providence Town Site nominated for federal historic designation

Ruins of the Bonanza King Mine (darthjenni)

By Jose Quintero
Desert Dispatch

SAN FRANCISCO — The Providence Town Site near the defunct Bonanza King Mine and Mitchell Caverns is one of 11 nominations to be considered to the National Register of Historic Places on Monday.

The California State Historical Resources Commission will consider the nominations for federal historic designation during a quarterly meeting in San Francisco at 1 p.m. on Monday.

Providence Town Site is an 81-acre district in the Providence Mountains in the Mojave National Preserve.

California Office of Historic Preservation officials say the buildings and structures in the Providence Town Site are “almost in a state of ruin.” the buildings and structures at the site comprise a nearly intact village near the Bonanza King Mine, a former silver mine, located roughly 100 miles east of Barstow.

“Practically all of the buildings and structures dating from the period of significance remain in place and are further connected by the town’s original road and trail system. The property is significant in the areas of settlement, commerce, transportation, architecture and archaeology,” the nomination reads.

The California Office of Historic Preservation is responsible for administering federally and state mandated historic preservation programs to further the identification, evaluation, registration and protection of the state’s “irreplaceable resources.” The mission of the California Office of Historic Preservation and the California State Historical Resources Commission is to provide “leadership and promote the preservation of California's irreplaceable and diverse cultural heritage,” the website reads.

The meeting is scheduled to be held at the Golden Gate Club’s Ventana Room, located at 135 Fisher Loop in San Francisco.

MITCHELL CAVERNS: Seeing state budget cuts up close

Mitchell Caverns are in the the Providence Mountains of eastern San Bernardino County (Mark Muckenfuss/staff photo)

BY JANET ZIMMERMAN
Press-Enterprise

California’s budget crisis hit me full-force recently when I realized Mitchell Caverns in the Mojave Desert’s Providence Mountains State Recreation Area are closed indefinitely.

These unique caverns, developed as a private tourist attraction in the 1930s, are not someplace I go often — I’ve only been there once. But on our spring break vacation in the desert, my husband and I wanted to take our children to see the caverns’ stalagmites, stalactites and other limestone formations.

We called, but the phone went unanswered. A little research turned up the reason.

The Providence Mountains State Recreation Area was closed in January 2011, along with 69 other state parks; 208 parks remain open. The area, which is within the boundaries of the Mojave National Preserve, became a state park in 1956.

According to the National Park Service, which includes notice of the closure in its newsletter for the Mojave preserve, said there were serious problems with the water system at the caverns, which coincided with state budget cuts.

The closures were necessary to meet $11 million in funding cuts that year, and $22 million this year, state officials said.

Sad to think, the only way my children may ever see this desert treasure is on video.

Shuttered California state parks may be vulnerable to vandalism

Damage to the visitors center and other structures at Mitchell Caverns in the Mojave Desert has officials working to improve plans to protect as many as 70 other California parks scheduled to close in July because of budget cuts.

Kevin Forrester, a superintendent with the California Department of Parks and Recreation, walks inside Mitchell Caverns at Providence Mountains State Recreation Area. Since the remote park's closure, intruders have cut fences, kicked doors off of hinges and shattered windows and display cases at the visitors center. Critics say it might be a harbinger of what's to come when 70 more state parks are closed because of budget cuts. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times / February 22, 2012)

By Louis Sahagun
Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Providence Mountains State Recreation Area, Calif. -- California parks officials closed a gem of the state park system last spring, sadly shuttering Mitchell Caverns, a natural wonder that for eight decades had drawn visitors to this remote spot in the Mojave Desert.

Workers hauled away the precious Native American artifacts and historical documents and locked the gates, assuming the area would sit undisturbed until the state could afford to reopen it.

But several times in the last four months, vandals traveled 16 desolate miles north from Interstate 40 to plunder and damage the park's isolated structures. Their actions left advocates for the caverns angry at the state and have officials working to improve plans to protect as many as 70 other California parks scheduled to close in July because of budget cuts.

The worst damage was to the 78-year-old rock-and-mortar visitors center at Mitchell Caverns, the main attraction of the 5,900-acre Providence Mountains State Recreation Area.

Intruders cut fences, kicked doors off of hinges and shattered windows and display cases. They stole metal signs and survival gear, including hand-held radios, flashlights and binoculars. They also stole diesel-powered generators and ripped out thousands of feet of electrical wire used to illuminate the only natural limestone caverns in the state park system, San Bernardino County sheriff's investigators said.

"What happened at the visitors center is devastating and heartbreaking," said Kathy Weatherman, superintendent of the California Parks and Recreation Department's Tehachapi District. She said the caverns themselves were not damaged. The state is taking steps to try to prevent more destruction, including searching for a full-time caretaker, Weatherman said.

The attacks have heightened concerns about possible vandalism at other state parks scheduled for closure. Those 70 parks are among the least used in the state. They represent one-quarter of the 278 that exist across California but tally just 8% of total visits. Many are in remote areas where they are particularly vulnerable.

Officials are seeking anyone with the clout and funds to keep them from being left unguarded after they are closed. "Now, amid budget constraints, we're looking for ways to get caretakers, guardians, local law enforcement and volunteers to protect these precious places," said Roy Stearns, a spokesman for the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

As with so many cuts in California government spending these days, the hope is that once the budget improves, the state will restore services and amenities that have long made the state a rich place to live. But there are no guarantees, especially because just 13 of the state parks and beaches are financially self-sustaining. Fans of many of the parks scheduled for closure are scrambling to try to find some combination of private funds and volunteerism to keep the gates open, fearing that if they ever close it could be for good.

The Mitchell Caverns visitors center, 220 miles east of Los Angeles, had been the home of the caverns' original owners, Los Angeles businessman Jack Mitchell and his wife, Ida. The couple moved to the desert to open the caverns as a tourist attraction in the 1930s and sold them to the state in 1954. A memorial plaque says the Mitchells wanted the state to preserve the area and the caverns "for future generations to appreciate."

Sue Ellen Patrick, 71, granddaughter of Jack and Ida Mitchell, said of the destruction: "My family feels betrayed because the state didn't do what it promised us, which is protect the caves and the heritage."

State Parks and Recreation Department officials decided to mothball the area last May because of two unrelated events. The park's two rangers retired and the state found serious problems with the water system, said Linda Slater, resource interpreter at the nearby Mojave National Preserve. The state couldn't afford the repairs needed to keep the park open.

After valuables were removed, the property was left unguarded, parks officials said.

"The state locked up the place and then walked away, leaving it wide open to troublemakers," said Dennis Casebier, executive director of the nonprofit Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Assn.

Said cattle rancher Rob Blair, 54, who lives within view of Mitchell Caverns: "It's disgusting what's going on out there. These intruders were pretty bold to cut the locks off a state park gate, then tear everything up and steal big-ticket items."

Park officials estimate the damage at $100,000.

Responding to a trespassing call on Feb. 5, sheriff's deputies arrested Christopher Alvarado, 48, of Azusa and Trisha Sutton, 36, of Covina. Deputies said they found stolen items at the couple's campsite near Mitchell Caverns. Alvarado and Sutton were booked on suspicion of burglary, receiving stolen property, possession of a controlled substance and possession of burglary tools, Sheriff's Lt. Ross Tarangle said.

The investigation continues, with police trying to determine whether other people were involved.

Although police reports indicate that a person interviewed at the site said vandals found a key to the cavern gates and destroyed natural features inside, Tarangle said those reports have yet to be confirmed, and parks officials insist they have no evidence the caverns were damaged.

From a distance, the entrance to the caverns resembles two large eyes on a massive rock. Their earliest inhabitants included a Pleistocene ground sloth that stumbled into the darkness 15,000 years ago and left claw marks on a wall. Later, the caverns were blackened with smoke from the fires of Chemehuevi Indians who used them for shelter, storage and ceremonial purposes for at least 500 years.

This week, Kevin Forrester, sector superintendent for the parks department, recalled memories of better times as he walked along a path to the visitors center.

"Look at it now," Forrester said with a sigh. "We've had to board up the windows and weld the doors shut.

"It's going to take a lot of money to bring this place back to life."