The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public assistance to identify a vehicle that illegally drove through Eureka Dunes in Death Valley National Park, damaging rare plants that exist nowhere else on Earth.
According to park officials, the incident occurred on December 17, 2025, when a vehicle, believed to be a 2021 Toyota Tacoma with California license plates, drove more than five miles through the protected dunes. The illegal off-roading damaged or destroyed at least 74 plants, including one Shining Milkvetch, a rare species found only on sand dunes within Death Valley.
“Eureka Dunes are a special place meant to be enjoyed on foot,” Death Valley Superintendent Mike Reynolds said in a statement. “They are protected from off-road driving by both park regulations and their designation as wilderness.”
The Eureka Dunes, standing 680 feet above the lake bed at their western base, are the tallest dunes in California and have been designated as a National Natural Landmark. The area is described by the NPS as an “ecological island” that has remained isolated from other sand fields for approximately 10,000 years.
Among the plants potentially damaged are the Eureka Dunes Evening Primrose and Eureka Valley dune grass, both endemic to the park’s dune ecosystems. The Eureka dunegrass is federally classified as threatened, while the shining milkvetch is a candidate for the Endangered Species List.
Photos released by the park service show a white truck with an equipment rack mounted in the bed and a black Fox Racing tailgate cover. The vehicle’s tracks not only directly damaged plants but also passed close enough to others that the vehicle’s weight may have caused underground root damage.
Many visitors mistakenly assume Death Valley is just sand and sparse vegetation, but despite its extreme conditions – it’s known as the hottest, driest, and lowest national park in the U.S. – it supports unique plant and wildlife species.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to report it anonymously to the National Park Service Tip Line at go.nps.gov/SubmitATip, by email at nps_isb@nps.gov, or by calling 888-653-0009.
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