Hours reduced at Mojave National Preserve’s Kelso Depot

The Kelso Depot Visitor Center in Mojave National Preserve, the park’s popular historic site, is about to be affected by federal spending cuts.

Starting next week, the visitor center will be closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The visitor center will remain open Fridays through Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The cutbacks are part of across-the-board federal spending cuts, also known as sequestration. Park officials said the budget rollbacks reduced the number of seasonal workers who would have staffed the recently reopened train depot.

The preserve’s headquarters information center in Barstow will continue to be open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The park itself is open every day with no entrance fee. All other facilities, including campgrounds and trails, remain open.