Whitewater River’s governmental protections ensure no forces dam it
Desert dwellers out for a refreshing splash in Whitewater River on a hot day may give no thought to the higher source of their recreation. The headwaters of the river’s South Fork lie a mere 100 feet below the 11,503-foot peak of Mount San Gorgonio in the Sand to Snow National Monument. … Five years ago this month, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation establishing the 154,000-acre Sand to Snow National Monument. Three years later to the day, the U.S. Senate passed Dianne Feinstein’s California Desert Protection and Recreation Act, which added sections of the snowmelt-and-spring-fed Whitewater River to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.