 The rocks are home to over 70 species of animals and 340 species of plants , which includes over 200 species of wildflowers . Vernal pools atop the plateaus fill during the rainy season in winter and spring because the andesite is impermeable . The dwarf woolly meadowfoam , a species of wildflower , grows around these pools , and is endemic to the rocks . The pools are also one of only a few places where the federally threatened species of fairy shrimp , Branchinecta lynchi , can be found . To protect these and other threatened species , the Bureau of Land Management has listed the rocks as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern since 1984 . 
