Bright Star Wilderness
IUCN Category Ib (Wilderness Area)
Location	Kern County, California, USA
Nearest city	Lake Isabella, CaliforniaNearest city: Lake Isabella, California
Coordinates	35°30′23″N 118°14′31″W / 35.50639°N 118.24194°W / 35.50639; -118.24194Coordinates: 35°30′23″N 118°14′31″W / 35.50639°N 118.24194°W / 35.50639; -118.24194
Area	9,520 acres (39 km2)
Established	1994 Established: 1994
Governing body	U.S. Bureau of Land Management

Bright Star Wilderness is a 9,520-acre wilderness area in Kern County in the U.S. state of California.^[1][2]

The California Desert Protection Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-433) added the wilderness to the National Wilderness Preservation System and it is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.

Bright Star Wilderness surrounds 5,090-foot (1,551 m) Kern County's Kelso Peak and drainages to the north, south and east, including Bright Star Canyon and Cortez Canyon.^[3] The Wilderness lies within the BLM’s Jawbone-Butterbredt Area of Critical Environmental Concern and protects much of the Kelso Mountain Range (not to be confused with the Kelso Mountains in Mojave National Preserve, San Bernardino County).^[2]

[edit] Vegetation

A wide variety of vegetation grows in the Bright Star Wilderness. The upper slopes of Kelso Peak are dotted with piñon pine and juniper, while the lower slopes are brushy and broken by large granite outcroppings. The valley below the peak is dense with Joshua trees.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
• Wilderness Act

[edit] External links

• Bright Star Wilderness - U.S. Bureau of Land Management
• Map of Bright Star Wilderness - Bureau of Land Management
• Bright Star Wilderness - SierraNevadaWild.gov
• Bright Star Wilderness - Wilderness.net