960 acres protected in California’s Bodie Hills
October 3, 2025-
Where the high peaks of the eastern Sierra and Yosemite National Park meet the sagebrush steppe, the Bodie Hills of California remain one of the state’s most ecologically intact landscapes with some of its highest biodiversity. Here The Wilderness Land Trust recently acquired a 960-acre property adjoining the Granite Mountain Wilderness area, removing a significant threat of development from this important landscape.
The Granite Mountain North property was purchased from private owners who had plans for residential development on it. With a road already built and well drilled on the property, the risk of development was well on its way. But over the course of seven years, the Trust worked with the landowners to find a different path forward for the property, completing the purchase of it last month. With the almost thousand-acre property now conserved, we have ensured its habitat for sage grouse and wild horses, as well as raptor nesting sites will be protected. Beyond the boundaries of the property itself, this acquisition helps maintain a buffer around the designated wilderness area, also benefiting its habitat, wildlife migration corridors, and scenic viewsheds.
Standing on the Granite Mountain North property with open views across the Bodie Hills and Mono Lake you can point to several other Wilderness Land Trust projects on horizon. With your support we have now protected around 8,000 acres in total in the area, stitching together a fragmented patchwork of public and private lands into a more unified and protected landscape.
