Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area

The approximately 63,500 acre Beaver Dam Wash NCA is located in the southwestern corner of Washington County, Utah, along the state lines of Nevada and Arizona. The landscape provides an interesting ecological transition zone between the Mojave Desert and the Great Basin. Its creosote bush, white bursage, and other desert shrubs grow at lower elevations and provide habitat for desert bighorn sheep and the Mojave Desert tortoise, a threatened species listed under the Endangered Species Act. Joshua trees and dense stands of blackbrush cover the slopes of the Beaver Dam Mountains, which rise along the eastern boundary of the NCA. Surface water flows in the upper reaches of Beaver Dam Wash, but rarely travels all the way through the NCA. Riparian vegetation along the stream channel is important habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. At this time, there are no developed recreation facilities in the NCA.