[2] The Kern Plateau is a large tableland with sprawling meadows, narrow grasslands along streams, and forested ridges and flats.

[4] A growing market for lumber added more pressure to develop the area and in 1956, a multiple-use management plan was completed that included a timber sale on the plateau.

[5] Wildlife includes the large Monache deer herd, the sensitive Sierra Nevada red fox, pine martens, cougars, and black bears.

[8] Recreational activities include backpacking, horseback riding, swimming, day hiking, fishing, hunting, rock climbing, mountaineering, skiing, snowshoeing, and off-roading.

There are historical sites, such as the Tunnel Meadow and Casa Vieja guard stations, and the 12-mile trail to Jordan Hot Springs along Ninemile Creek.

[9] Other restrictions include a ban on wood-fueled fires along the PCT between Cottonwood Pass to the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness and also at the Rocky Basin Lake area.