Editing Death Valley National Park (section)

===Protection and later history===
President [[Herbert Hoover]] proclaimed a [[U.S. National Monument|national monument]] in and around Death Valley on February 11, 1933, setting aside almost {{convert|2|e6acre|km2|spell=in|abbr=unit}} of southeastern California and small parts of Nevada.<ref name="NPSguide">[[#NPSguide|NPS Visitor Guide]]</ref>

[[File:CCC boys in Death Valley.jpg|thumb|[[Civilian Conservation Corps]] workers in Death Valley]]
The [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] (CCC) developed infrastructure in Death Valley National Monument during the [[Great Depression]] and on into the early 1940s. The CCC built barracks, graded {{convert|500|mi|km}} of roads, installed water and telephone lines, and a total of 76 buildings. Trails in the Panamint Range were built to points of scenic interest, and an [[adobe]] village, laundry and trading post were constructed for the [[Timbisha|Timbisha Shoshone Tribe]]. Five campgrounds, restrooms, an airplane landing field and picnic facilities were also built.<ref name="NPSccc">[[#NPSwebsite|NPS website]], "Civilian Conservation Corps"</ref>

The creation of the monument resulted in a temporary closing of the lands to prospecting and mining. However, Death Valley was quickly reopened to mining by [[Congress of the United States|Congressional]] action in June 1933. As improvements in mining technology allowed lower grades of ore to be processed, and new heavy equipment allowed greater amounts of rock to be moved, mining in Death Valley changed. Gone were the days of the "single-blanket, jackass prospector" long associated with the romantic west. [[Open-pit mine|Open pit]] and [[strip mine]]s scarred the landscape as international mining corporations bought claims in highly visible areas of the national monument. The public outcry that ensued led to greater protection for all national park and monument areas in the United States.<ref name="NPSmining"/> In 1976, Congress passed the Mining in the Parks Act, which closed Death Valley National Monument to the filing of new mining claims, banned open-pit mining and required the [[National Park Service]] to examine the validity of tens of thousands of pre-1976 mining claims. Mining was allowed to resume on a limited basis in 1980 with stricter environmental standards.<ref name="NPSmining" /> The last mine in the park, Billie Mine, closed in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mining in Death Valley – Death Valley National Park|url=https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/nature/mining-in-death-valley.htm|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-29|publisher=National Park Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306131546/http://www.nps.gov:80/deva/learn/nature/mining-in-death-valley.htm |archive-date=2015-03-06 }}</ref>

In 1952 President Harry Truman added the [[Devils Hole]] to Death Valley National Monument; it is the only habitat of the [[Devils Hole pupfish]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rivard |first=Katherine |title=The Extraordinary Lives of Death Valley's Endangered Devils Hole Pupfish |url=https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/extraordinary-lives-death-valleys-endangered-devils-hole-pupfish |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=National Park Foundation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Devils Hole – Death Valley National Park |url=https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/nature/devils-hole.htm |access-date=2024-09-25 |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>

Death Valley National Monument was designated a [[biosphere reserve]] in 1984.<ref name="NPSindex" /> On October 31, 1994, the monument was expanded by {{convert|1.3|e6acre|km2}} and re-designated as a [[national park]], via congressional passage of the [[California Desert Protection Act]] (Public Law 103–433).<ref name="NPSindex" /> Consequently, the elevated status for Death Valley made it the largest national park in the [[contiguous United States]]. On March 12, 2019, the [[John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act]] added {{cvt|35292|acre|sqmi km2|0}} to the park.<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/47 "S.47 – John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act; Part III—National Park System additions; Sec. 1431. Death Valley National Park boundary revision"]. ''congress.gov''. Retrieved June 16, 2019.</ref>

Many of the larger cities and towns within the boundary of the regional [[groundwater]] flow system that the park and its plants and animals rely upon are experiencing some of the fastest growth rates of any place in the United States. Notable examples within a {{convert|100|mi|km|adj=on}} radius of Death Valley National Park include [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] and [[Pahrump, Nevada]]. In the case of Las Vegas, the local Chamber of Commerce estimates that 6,000 people are moving to the city every month. Between 1985 and 1995, the population of the Las Vegas Valley increased from 550,700 to 1,138,800.<ref name="FocusWater" />

In 1977, parts of Death Valley were used by director [[George Lucas]] as a [[List of Star Wars filming locations|filming location for ''Star Wars'']], providing the setting for the fictional planet [[Tatooine]].<ref name="lucas">{{cite book|last=Hearn|first=Marcus|title=The Cinema of George Lucas|year=2005|others=Foreword by Ron Howard|publisher=Abrams|location=New York|isbn=0-8109-4968-7|page=109}}</ref><ref name="swlocs-deathvalley">{{cite web|title=Star Wars trek: Death Valley – April 2001|url=http://www.starwarslocations.com/article.php?story=20070923041409143|work=Star Wars Locations|access-date=28 March 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Telescope & Wildrose Peaks - Emigrant Canyon Rd.jpg|thumb|center|upright=3|[[Telescope Peak|Telescope]] and Wildrose Peaks from Emigrant Canyon Road]]