Joy Rider Who Damaged Rare Plants in Death Valley Dunes Remains at Large

More than a month after a joy rider tore through Eureka Dunes in California’s Death Valley National Park National Park Service and damaged several threatened and rare plants, National Park Service officials have yet to identify the culprit, they said on Monday.

Someone drove a vehicle into a protected area of the national park in late December, leaving behind two miles of tire marks on the 680-foot-tall dunes and damaging several plants. Both off-road vehicles and sand boards are illegal on the Eureka Dunes to protect the vegetation there, some of which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, according to a news release from the Park Service.

“I’m saddened that someone would disregard the survival of a rare species for a few minutes of joyriding,” the park’s superintendent, Mike Reynolds, in a statement. He added that there are nearby area designated for off-road vehicles, “but the sensitive dune systems in the National Park are set aside to be protected.”

Since Superintendent Reynolds asked for the public’s help in identifying a suspect, there have been no leads, Abby Wines, a spokesperson for Death Valley National Park, said on Monday.

Driving onto the dunes and damaging the threatened plants could lead to prison sentence of up to six months and a fines of up to $25,000, Ms. Wines said.

A biologist for the Park Service noticed the vehicle tracks and plant damage in the remote area on Dec. 26, 2024. The employee specifically documented damage to Eureka dunegrass, which is unique to the Eureka Valley region and is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, according to the Park Service.

Five other rare plants species were harmed as well, including the Eureka Dunes evening primrose, which is endemic to the dunes. It was removed from the endangered species list in 2018 because the threat of damage from off-road driving had been reduced, the park service said.