The Desert Biosphere Reserve and Experimental Range is a biosphere reserve and experimental range in western Millard County, Utah, United States, that is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.[1][2]

Desert Experimental Range Station Historic District
Desert Biosphere Reserve with rainbow in background, January 2016
Desert Biosphere Reserve is located in Utah
Desert Biosphere Reserve
Desert Biosphere Reserve is located in the United States
Desert Biosphere Reserve
LocationPine Valley
Millar County, Utah
United States
Nearest cityMilford
Coordinates38°40′N 113°45′W / 38.667°N 113.750°W / 38.667; -113.750
Area7.5 acres (3.0 ha)
Built byUnited States Forest Service & Civilian Conservation Corps
Architectural styleForest Service standard plan
Websitewww.fs.fed.us/rmrs/experimental-forests/desert-experimental-range
NRHP reference No.94000267[1]
Added to NRHPApril 11, 1994

Description

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The experimental range was established in 1933 when 87 square miles (230 km2) of public lands were designated "as an agricultural range experiment station" by President Herbert Hoover.

The range is maintained by the U.S. Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station. It was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1976 but was withdrawn from the program as of June 14, 2017.[3] It is located in the northwest of Pine Valley, a valley section in southwest Millard County, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Milford; the north section of the reserve covers the southern half of the Tunnel Springs Mountains. It protects a landscape typical of the Great Basin, with its typical geography of north–south aligned mountain ranges separated by desert basins. Vegetation is typical of the Great Basin shrub steppe, with shadscale saltbush (Atriplex confertifolia) and sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) scrublands predominant. The reserve also includes areas of Single-leaf Pinyon (Pinus monophylla) juniper woodland and pasture land.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Desert Experimental Range
  3. ^ "23 new sites added to UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves". en.unesco.org. UNESCO. June 14, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
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