New Problems for Rio Tinto and Conservancy Funding to the Park Declines

The Death Valley Conservancy met with Death Valley National Park staff Jan. 20, 2017, at Ryan Camp. Superintendent Mike Reynolds led the meeting and representing the conservancy was Preston Chiaro, Henry Golas, conservancy employee Scott Smith and his wife Jessica.

Reynolds started off the meeting by saying that Scotty’s Castle was not expected to open until as late as 2020. Funding for repairs had been nearly all secured and the display and archive collection move was completed in December. The park worked on repairing infrastructure damaged from the floods and the Bonnie Claire road was expected to be open late 2018.

Twenty-two staffing positions had been filled and the previous June and summer period was the hottest in the park. Park visitation in 2016 was the largest ever recorded at 1.35 million visitors. The Devils Hole pupfish count was 144 which was up from the spring count of 115 and the Devils Hole management history had been completed and was sent to the printer. The National Historic Preservation Act anniversary and archeology day event was a success and 1,000 people participated. The Scotty’s Castle virtual reality project was completed by Ted Faye and the Harmony Borax interpretive sign and repaving project was postponed.

The conservancy related that they worked on infrastructure projects at Ryan Camp and they planned to update their website, but the Facebook website was their primary outreach tool. The new 20 mule team wagons participated in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, Jan. 2 and a park ranger was there and provided the public with talks about the significance of the wagons as they related to Death Valley. The new wagons would be stored in a new wagon barn at the Laws Railroad Museum in Bishop, California.

On the conservancy’s request to use the Billie Mine for storage, a National Park Service attorney suggested that something other than a memorandum of understanding be used for the agreement. The funding agreement between the park and the DVC will expire in 2017 and work should begin on a new agreement taking the newly released Director’s Order #21: Donations and Philanthropic Partnerships into consideration.

Early 2017 saw the passing of Death Valley legend Marta Becket who 50 years earlier bought and restored a historic property at Death Valley Junction. From 1923 to 1925, the Pacific Coast Borax Company constructed facilities at Death Valley Junction at a cost of $300,000. The company hired architect Alexander Hamilton McCulloh who designed Spanish Colonial style adobe buildings. The facilities included company offices, store, employee dormitory, 23-room hotel, dining room, lobby, gymnasium, billiard room and ice cream parlor.

The complex also included a recreation building, named Corkhill Hall that was used as a community center for dances, church services, movies, funerals and town meetings. The town’s population peaked at about 300 people, but its future was short-lived.

In 1927, the Pacific Coast Borax Company moved its headquarters from Death Valley Junction to the Kramer Mine District at Boron, California. The company buildings at Death Valley Junction were remodeled in 1927 and it became known as the Amargosa Hotel, but it began a steady decline over the next several years.

Marta Becket, a ballet dancer from New York moved to California in 1962 with her husband. In 1967 while camping in Death Valley, their camp trailer had a flat tire and they went to Death Valley Junction to have the tire repaired. While Marta’s husband tended to the tire Marta explored the old buildings of the Amargosa Hotel. When Marta discovered that the old Corkhill Hall was a theater, she decided to rent the hall and renamed it the Amargosa Opera House.

Marta remained at the Amargosa Opera House for 50 years until her death at age 92, Jan. 30, 2017. During those 50 years Marta preformed regularly in the Opera House and operated the hotel. In 1973 Marta formed the Amargosa Opera House Inc. to engage in the business of providing literary, artistic, educational and other cultural benefits to the public. Amargosa Opera House Inc. then became a nonprofit organization under Internal Revenue Service Section 501(c)(3).

The nonprofit organization operated with success and failure over the years. Shortly after Marta died the Attorney General with the State of California Department of Justice issued a notice to suspend the nonprofit status of the Amargosa Opera House for failing to file required forms going back several years to 2011.

Previous board members and friends banded together and quickly corrected the errors. By May the issues were resolved, and the Attorney General determined that the organization was again current and authorized to conduct business.

This year also brought another change to a historic property built by Pacific Coast Borax Company. In 1926 the Pacific Coast Borax Company began construction on a magnificent Inn for guests to enjoy the beauty of the valley and it opened in 1927. The Fred Harvey Company purchased the Death Valley hotels from U.S. Borax in 1966. AMFAC, now Xanterra Parks and Resorts, bought the Fred Harvey Company in 1968 which included the Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch Resort. Xanterra Parks and Resorts announced June 5, 2017, that the former Furnace Creek Ranch Resort will be called the Oasis at Death Valley and the Furnace Creek Inn will be called the Inn at Death Valley. The decades old namesake of Furnace Creek Inn and Furnace Creek Ranch would be no more.

The Death Valley Conservancy met with Death Valley National Park staff July 28, 2017, at Scotty’s Castle. Superintendent Mike Reynolds led the meeting and representing the conservancy was Preston Chiaro, Henry Golas, conservancy employee Scott Smith and his wife Jessica.

Reynolds related that Death Valley broke 11 individual day heat records in June and the Keane Wonder Mine would open in the fall. The Owlshead microwave tower was eligible for the National Historic List and the construction taking place at Xanterra’s Furnace Creek property would cause limited facilities during the year.

At Scotty’s Castle, 58 projects had been identified for restoration and repair at an estimate of $52 million. Projects that were identified but not funded were the heating and air-condition systems at $3.5 million and a shed and storage facility at $6.5 million. The Mojave Desert Land Trust had transferred 8 mine properties to the park and the burro population had increased to an estimate of 2,000 to 4,500 in the park. Ted Faye’s virtual reality project on Scotty’s Castle was scheduled to be presented at the park visitor center in October.

The conservancy related that power was restored to the schoolhouse and they were working on design and engineering for the recreation hall. The bunkhouse stairs, veranda and railings had been reconstructed and other stair and railing projects were being planned. The conservancy was also working with the University of Nevada at Reno (UNR) to recruit a grad student or intern to work on research projects.

The cost of the Laws Railroad Museum borax wagon barn project turned out to be more that what was originally thought. The conservancy planned to do more fundraising to complete the barn and build a replica water wagon. The wagons appeared in the July 4 parade in Washington D.C. and were scheduled to appear in the Boron, California, parade in October.

The work on the conservancy request to use the Billie Mine for storage continued and the park planned to use a special use permit. The park was working on a draft of the permit and Scott Smith planned to work on a management plan for the Billie Mine.

Aug. 18, 2017, U.S. Borax on behalf of parent company Rio Tinto Minerals, filed the notice of intent to hold mining claims and mill sites for the assessment year beginning Sept. 1, 2017, in Inyo County, California. A maintenance fee of $155 was paid on each of the 231 claims and sites.

The notice of intent to hold mining claims was signed by Rio Tinto/U.S. Borax Inc. Land Manager Nathan Francis. Francis has also served on the board of the Death Valley Natural History Association for five years. Last year in 2016 he served in the position of chair and this year he was serving in the position of treasurer of the association. Francis also held the position of treasurer in 2014.

Difficult times continued for Rio Tinto as news reporters questioned if ongoing scandals and director resignations were occurring just because the company was prone to bad fortune of if there was a larger underlying problem with its series of poor director and senior management choices.

June 2017 the UK Serious Fraud Office and the Australian Federal Police opened a corruption investigation into a multimillion-dollar payment made by Rio Tinto to a private consultant. A representative for Rio Tinto said, “it will fully cooperate with the Serious Fraud Office and any other relevant authorities, as it has done since it self-reported in November 2016.”

Then, only to compound problems for Rio Tinto, the United Stated Securities and Exchange Commission charged Rio Tinto and former top executives with fraud Oct. 17, 2017. The Securities and Exchange Commission claims that Rio Tinto inflated the value of coal assets in Mozambique and concealed critical information while tapping the market for billions of dollars. The Mozambique coal business was acquired for $3.7 billion in 2011 from Ragsdale Mining and sold a few years later for only $50 million. In the Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit filed in U.S. District court in New York, the Securities and Exchange Commission claims that Rio Tinto, former chief executive officer Thomas Albanese, and former chief financial officer Guy Elliott, failed to follow accounting standards and company polices to accurately value and record the assets.

What is interesting about the alleged Mozambique claims is that the activities took place during some of the same time period that Rio Tinto had decided not to donate Ryan Camp to the National Park Service and to donate Ryan Camp to the Death Valley Conservancy. Thomas Albanese was the CEO during the Mozambique timeline and he was also the CEO during the donation of Ryan Camp to the Death Valley Conservancy. Preston Chiaro was the executive of the Technology and Innovation Group which played a part of the Mozambique claims and Chiaro was also president of the Death Valley Conservancy.

Preston Chiaro also contributed significantly to the Mozambique investigation when it is learned that “Chiaro was a concerned whistleblower who unraveled attempts by the then chief executive and chief financial officer to hide bad news from investors and company directors.” These events are disputed by Rio Tinto and several of its former executives though.

The Death Valley’s Conservancy 2016 Internal Revenue Service Form 990 for the return of organizations exempt from income tax, was signed by Henry Golas Nov. 13, 2017. The conservancy reported a net asset or fund balance of $23,832,417, an increase of $881,778 from the previous year. The total program service expense was $772,034 which was an increase of $156,829 from the previous year.

The conservancy provided $326 to Death Valley National Park to study and protect the endangered Devils Hole pup fish and educate the public as to the importance of the endangered species.

There was also an expense of $17,944 for the Death Valley Fund to support projects around the park in conjunction with the National Park Service. Projects included an archeological survey of the Greenwater rock art site using GPS to record, photograph and document panels to develop baseline data for future condition assessment and produce a site record and GPS map of the site including locations of existing user established trails. This expense amount also lists the park partners gathering.

Also funded from the $17,944 expense was a new solar telescope for the park visitor program, support for the park’s event commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act, and funded a virtual reality media tour of Scotty’s Castle for the park to use at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center while the castle is closed for repairs.

The expense for the Ryan Camp preservation, maintenance and interpretation of the historical mining camp and to restore it for an education and research center was $753,764, an increase of $163,138 from the previous year.

During 2016 the conservancy also spent $135,463 to develop and build assets related to Ryan Camp including a scanning project. These items have been capitalized and are being depreciated over their useful life span. The DVC also reported that they have ongoing investment in architectural and structural preservation plan projects for the church/rec hall and bunkhouse #1 stairs and landings.

Also listed as a program service accomplishment was the 20 Mule Team Wagons Reproduction project. This project will create a functioning set of reproductions of the 1880s era world-famous 20 Mule Team Death Valley Borax Wagons for use in demonstrations, parades and living history displays and education. During 2016 the DVC spent $174,782 to develop and build the reproductions.

The DVC received six cash contributions from a person in the following amounts:  Two for $10,000, two for $20,000, one for $50,000 and one for $150,000. Tax records for the Elisha-Bolton Foundation, EIN 34-1500135, in 2016 show a contribution to the Death Valley Conservancy for $10,000. The donation for $150,000 would be in line with funds from Rio Tinto for the DVC’s 20 Mule Team reproduction wagon project. The total amount of the contributions was $260,000. (For this reporting to the IRS, only contributions totaling $5,000 or more, in money or other property, from any one contributor is reported on the Schedule of Contributors.)

Persons listed as officers, directors, trustees and key employees remained as it has for the previous years with Preston Chiaro as president, Kari Krusmark as vice president, Henry Golas as secretary and treasurer and Sandra Moore as a director.

Henry Golas also showed reportable compensation from the organization in the amount of $129,808 and an estimated amount of other compensation in the amount of $29,717. The combined compensation amounts came to $159,525 which is an increase of $18,974 over the previous year.

The explanation on the tax form indicated the same as the previous year in that Golas, as secretary/treasurer, volunteers four hours a week as a board member and in the management of the organization. In 2015 it was reported that Golas was working 20 hours a week in the Ryan Camp program and his compensation was related to that 20 hours worked. Golas was also working 20 hours a week in the previous year. The number of hours Golas now worked in 2016 was reported to be 40 hours a week as the executive director.

Comparing the Death Valley Conservancy’s combined compensation amounts for Henry Golas of $159,525 for 2016 to its closest nonprofit neighbor, the Death Valley Natural History Association, the executive director for that organization received $60,436 which was a $1,487 increase over the previous year. The executive director for the Amargosa Land Trust received $66,291, and the director and business manager for the Bishop Museum and Historical Society, which includes the Laws Railroad Museum, received $30,944. There is no director compensation for the Amargosa Opera House Inc., the Death Valley 49ers Inc. or the Friends of the Eastern California Museum nonprofit organizations.

As in the previous year, the program service expenses from the DVC to the park were decreasing while the expense to preserve and maintain Ryan Camp and the compensation to Golas was increasing.

The Death Valley Conservancy met with Death Valley National Park staff Jan. 19, 2018, at the park headquarters conference room. Superintendent Mike Reynolds led the meeting and representing the conservancy was Preston Chiaro, Henry Golas, conservancy employee Scott Smith and his wife Jessica.

Reynolds related that there are 77 separate ongoing projects at Scotty’s Castle related to flood recovery and the castle is still scheduled to open in 2020. Standards are also in place for the reopening of the Death Valley school. Until then the children can go to school in Shoshone by way of bus. Dante’s View will also be closed for renovations from January to April and recent months have seen an increase in staffing and a decrease in employee turnover.

Park staff explained that 10 students and two instructors from George Wright Fellows will be coming to the park for data collection for a regional project on visitor information and cultural and natural resources. The DVC will be providing lodging for them when they are in the park. The Ted Faye virtual reality project event took place October 2017 and it was well received. Faye is still looking for funding for the permanent exhibit. The park’s ROCKS Education Program has hosted more than 1,600 students so far this year at a cost of roughly $6 per student. The MarsFest 2018 will take place Feb. 24 through 26 and the Death Valley Natural History Association is taking the lead on this project. The Park Partners event went very well and had the best attendance ever with 60 people. The DVC indicated they would like to sponsor the event again this year.

Regarding the DVC request to use the Billie Mine for storage, the park prepared a draft SUP for review by the DVC. The draft SUP also needs to be reviewed by the park’s compliance staff as well.

The conservancy then went over their projects and related that a new project to renovate the recreation hall will be starting and the renovation to the stairs of guest house #1 are complete. The historic structure report draft is almost finished but additional research needs to be completed.

The conservancy also provided an update on the 20 Mule Team Wagon project relating that the wagon barn is almost finished at the Laws Museum in Bishop, California, and the museum is looking for additional funds to finish the project. The conservancy is moving forward to replicate the water wagon and continuing additional fundraising to complete the project. The 20 Mule Team will also be appearing in the Mule Days parade in Bishop, California, on Memorial Day.

April 12, 2018, Death Valley National park announced that entrance fees will be raised to provide additional funding for infrastructure and maintenance needs. Park entrance fees will be $30 per vehicle or $25 per motorcycle effective June 1, 2018. Revenue from Death Valley’s entrance fees stays in the park and is used to support visitor experiences.

Infrastructure in many parks was built in the 1950s. Death Valley National Park is responsible for Scotty’s Castle, which was built in the 1920s in addition to adobe buildings that were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Death Valley National Park Superintendent, Mike Reynolds, commented, “We average one water line break per week. It feels like we’re always in emergency mode.”

Nationwide, the NPS has an $11.6 billion deferred maintenance backlog. Death Valley has about $139 million in deferred maintenance needs, yet the park’s annual operating budget is $8.5 million. The park plans to rehabilitate parking lots, sidewalks, restrooms and boardwalks at popular trailheads. Entrance fees are funding about one-third of the projects to repair flood damage at Scotty’s Castle, which is scheduled to reopen to the public in 2020. The park estimates that the new fee structure will increase annual entrance fee revenue at Death Valley National Park by $350,000.

Memorial Day, May 28, 2018, saw the dedication of the new 20 Mule Team Borax Wagon Exhibit at the Laws Railroad Museum and Historic Village in Bishop, California. The Death Valley Conservancy’s replica borax wagons finally made it to their new home after a trip that took them to the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, the July 4 parade in Washington D.C. and then the Bishop Mule Days parade in Bishop, California.

Besides the 20 mule team borax wagons being a historic and current corporate emblem of US Borax and Rio Tinto, the wagons were made famous by the early television show “Death Valley Days” hosted by Ronald Reagan.

During the dedication of the wagon exhibit at the Laws Museum in Bishop, California, Preston Chiaro, president of the Death Valley Conservancy and retired Rio Tinto executive told those attending “these wagons have a real power, it’s the power of an idea, and that idea is the development of the West.” Chiaro also related that Rio Tinto put up a $150,000 challenge grant that made the fabrication of the wagons possible.

July 18, 2018, U.S. Borax on behalf of parent company Rio Tinto Minerals, filed the notice of intent to hold mining claims and mill sites for the assessment year beginning Sept. 1, 2018, in Inyo County, California. A maintenance fee of $155 was paid on each of the 231 claims and sites.

The notice of intent to hold mining claims was signed by Rio Tinto/U.S. Borax Inc. Land Manager Nathan Francis. Francis has also served on the board of the Death Valley Natural History Association for six years. He currently holds the position of treasurer and was also treasurer last year.

It has been 35 years since the U.S. Borax Exploration Department “quietly” staked these mining claims and drilled exploratory holes on the plateau above the old company owned town of Ryan Camp. The rewards of that work which one day may be forth coming.

The Death Valley Conservancy met with Death Valley National Park staff Nov. 2, 2018, at Ryan Camp. Superintendent Mike Reynolds led the meeting and representing the conservancy was Preston Chiaro, Henry Golas and conservancy employee Scott Smith.

Reynolds started the meeting by relating that staffing turnover has decreased and 33 people were hired in 2018 for a net gain of 7 positions. Scotty’s Castle has a projected opening of 2020 with $52 million in total repairs. The repairs to Bonnie Claire Road came to $15 million and those repairs will start this month. The park is working with a nonprofit organization called “Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue” to capture and relocate invasive burros. So far 60 burros have been captured. Park staff is reviewing the public comments of the Saline Valley environmental impact study and the final report should be completed in early 2019. Xanterra will be having a grand opening this month to celebrate their $100 million remodel project which changed the name from Furnace Creek Ranch and Furnace Creek Inn to the Oasis at Death Valley and the Inn at Death Valley.

Park staff related that the Devil’s Hole Fall pupfish count was 187 fish which is the highest count since 2003. A restoration project also continues at Devil’s Hole with 258 plants recently planted. The education program served over 3,000 students last year and transportation is the greatest need at $20,000 per year. Primarily the Nevada schools are served but the program also reaches out to Owens Valley and as far as Victorville, California, with emphasis on the gateway communities. The annual MarsFest will be replaced by the Night Sky Festival in March which will offer a broader range of activities.

Regarding the conservancy’s request to use the Billie Mine for storage, the park requested that the DVC craft language they would like to see for consideration that falls within NPS guidelines.

Park staff also addressed the conservancy’s request to increase the size of the Navel Springs water tank in order to better balance capacities with on-site storage for fire suppression needs at Ryan Camp. Park staff related that compliance may be required depending on the environmental assessment completed at the time and the park will review the Navel Springs Environmental Assessment to see if additional compliance is required. The Navel Springs Environmental Assessment was completed November 2013.

After updates from the park the conservancy related that they are continuing to work with the Laws Railroad Museum and the American Mule Museum on the borax wagon project. The water wagon is under construction and new interpretive exhibits at the Laws Museum should be finished by the end of the year.

Park Projects LLC, a nonprofit organization, has been marketing t-shirts of Death Valley and contributing a portion of their sales to the Death Valley Conservancy. The DVC then puts those donations into the Death Valley Fund to be used for park projects. To date the contribution from the sales have been close to two hundred dollars and staff suggested a different design my improve sales.

The next conservancy project at Ryan Camp will be the stabilization and restoration of the recreation hall. Water capacity for fire suppression is a main concern and it is possible to use existing infrastructure to store more water on-site. New water tanks designed to fit within the existing historic concrete tanks are being fabricated to increase the on-site water storage capacity and this will address required fire flow durations. The final historic structure report is under review and is very comprehensive and includes history and architectural drawings.

The park and the conservancy then discussed communication and goals for the future and the frequency on when joint meetings should be held. Common areas of interest to work together was also discussed. The conservancy is interested in cooperation with other entities and historic artifacts that are significant to the park. The conservancy would also like to resume pursuing corporate sponsorships to help meet some of the park’s project goals.

Meetings between the park and the conservancy can go from twice a year to once a year but can be more frequent if needed. Typically, the next meeting is tentatively scheduled for six months in the future but now the next meeting was suggested to be later next year before the Park Partners event October 2019, and another meeting if needed.

The Death Valley’s Conservancy 2017 Internal Revenue Service Form 990 for the return of organizations exempt from income tax, was signed by Henry Golas Nov. 15, 2018. The conservancy reported a net asset or fund balance of $25,962,032, an increase of $2,129,615 from the previous year. The total program service expense was $722,114 which was a decrease of $49,920 from the previous year.

As in prior years, the conservancy listed their first program service accomplishment for Death Valley National Park to study and protect the endangered Devils Hole pup fish and educate the public as to the importance of the endangered species but no expenses from the conservancy were listed.

The second program service accomplishment was listed as the Death Valley Fund to support projects around the park in conjunction with the National Park Service and an expense of $7,437. For this expense projects included the park partners gathering which is the annual community development gathering connecting Death Valley community members and leaders from the government, education, nonprofit and business sectors. The $7,437 expense included a DVC donation of $5,000 to the Death Valley Natural History Association for bus transportation for schools to participate in the park’s Death Valley ROCKS science education program.

Accomplishments for the Death Valley Fund also included a virtual reality media tour for the park which will allow visitors at the Furnace Creek visitors center and from the web to experience a virtual reality visit to Scotty’s Castle while it is closed until 2020 for repairs.

The third program service accomplishment was an expense for $696,587 for the Ryan Camp preservation, maintenance and interpretation of the historical mining camp and to restore it for an education and research center. This was a decrease of $57,177 from the previous year.

Included in the $696,587 expense was $137,063 to develop and build assets related to Ryan Camp. These items have been capitalized and are being depreciated over their useful life span. The DVC also reported that ongoing investment in architectural and structural preservation plan projects for the church/rec hall and bunkhouse #1 stairs and landings. This program service accomplishment also listed a revenue of $8,260.

Listed as a fourth item under other program services was an expense of $18,090 for the 20 Mule Team Wagons Reproduction. This was to create a functioning set of reproductions of the 1880s era world-famous 20 Mule Team Death Valley Borax Wagons for use in demonstrations, parades and living history displays and education. During 2017 the DVC spent $61,889 to develop and build the reproductions.

The 20 Mule Team and reproduction wagons appeared in the Rose Parade, the July 4 parade in Washington D.C. and the mule days celebration in Bishop, California. The conservancy also began work on a reproduction water wagon to complete the set.

The DVC received two cash contributions from a person with one in the amount of $5,000 and the other in the amount of $14,000. Tax records for the Elisha-Bolton Foundation, EIN 34-1500135, in 2017 show a contribution to the Death Valley Conservancy for $5,000. (For this reporting to the IRS, only contributions totaling $5,000 or more, in money or other property, from any one contributor is reported on the Schedule of Contributors.)

Persons listed as officers, directors, trustees and key employees remained as it has for the previous six years with Preston Chiaro as president, Kari Krusmark as vice president, Henry Golas as secretary and treasurer and Sandra Moore as a director.

Henry Golas also showed reportable compensation from the organization in the amount of $125,000 and an estimated amount of other compensation in the amount of $30,191. The combined compensation amounts came to $155,191 which is a decrease of $4,334 from the previous year.

The explanation on the tax form indicated the same as the previous year in that Golas, as secretary/treasurer, volunteers four hours a week as a board member and in the management of the organization. Golas also works 40 hours a week as the executive director and his compensation related to these 40 hours are what is reported.

Comparing the Death Valley Conservancy’s combined compensation amounts for Henry Golas of $155,191 for 2017 to its closest nonprofit neighbor, the Death Valley Natural History Association, the executive director for that organization received $62,636 which is a $1,926 increase over the previous year. The executive director for the Amargosa Land Trust received $48,800, a decrease of $17,491 from the previous year, and the director and business manager for the Bishop Museum and Historical Society, which includes the Laws Railroad Museum, received $43,680, which is a $12,736 increase over the previous year. There is no director compensation for the Amargosa Opera House Inc., the Death Valley 49ers Inc. or the Friends of the Eastern California Museum nonprofit organizations.

(Please notify author on the website contact page for errors, omissions or suggestions.)

Information Sources and Credits:

• Copies of reports, documents and electronic media provided by the National Park Service.
• Copies of emails, reports, documents and electronic media obtained from the National Park Service under Freedom of Information Act requests.
• Reference document directory
• Amargosa Opera House Inc.
• Australian Financial Review
• California Office of the Attorney General
• California Secretary of State
• Death Valley Natural History Association
• GuideStar
• Internal Revenue Service
• Inyo County Clerk-Recorder Office
• Inyo Register
• Los Angeles Times
• Las Vegas Review-Journal
• Laws Railroad Museum
• Mojave Desert Land Trust
• National Park Service
• National Register of Historic Places
• NoeHill Travels
• Rio Tinto
• The Guardian
• The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
• United States Securities and Exchange Commission
• U.S. Borax

Chapter 8 (In development)

Timeline 1864 – 2018

Timeline 2019 –

Photo Gallery – Current Events

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