COLUMN: Enjoy nature, visit Wetlands Park

Just when I think government can't get any worse, and wonder whether any of our local bureaucrats really cares about the valley and the people living in it, something comes along to restore my faith in humankind.

I recently took a hike through the Clark County Wetlands Park and went away restored, renewed and in awe of nature at its finest. We had watched ducks swimming in a pond and were walking through an area of mesquite, when a golden eagle flew overhead and landed in the brush nearby.

It was one of those moments when you hold your breath, hoping that snapshot in time remains with you forever.

I couldn't let such a precious treasure stay hidden. Is it possible that people could be encouraged to visit the Nature Preserve but not to damage it? I'm counting on that, otherwise even I would keep my big mouth shut and keep this place off the beaten path.

Don't go there if you're planning on bringing a barbecue, the in-laws, the kids and the dog. This is a gentle place, where wildlife rules, not Frisbee games.

The 130-acre Nature Preserve within the 2,900-acre Wetlands Park, located at the eastern end of Flamingo Road, features about five miles of walking paths. The handicap-accessible concrete trail loop is about two miles and takes visitors along a stream and around ponds fringed with riparian and wetlands plants.

Other trails are marked and a map can be obtained at the visitors center, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The preserve is open from dawn to dusk. Maps also can be downloaded at www.co.clark.nv.us/parks/wetlands/wetland's_homepage.htm.

A few days after my pilgrimage to nature, I chatted with Bruce Sillitoe, planner for Wetlands Park. I was angry that housing developments were encroaching on the park and wanted to know why.

He patiently explained to me that in this case, the chicken did come before the egg. Although the wetlands existed, nobody had considered making a park out of it and those pieces of property along Broadbent Boulevard were privately owned. Therefore, it was right and proper that the landowner could sell it for a housing tract.

Sillitoe said the Clark County Planning Department heard that if the developer built a certain number of homes, nearby land would be rezoned residential. The department bought up that 80-acre parcel, which is south of the preserve, for a very thrifty $900,000. The 120-acre parcel due north of the construction area was already in the county domain.

So, little by little, the Planning Department is gathering up acreage, both within its boundaries and adjacent land that acts as a buffer zone between the humans and the animals.

He said some private land within the park is zoned residential, but lies within the Las Vegas Wash, a highly swampy area that makes it nearly impossible to develop.

Sillitoe said the department recently acquired two parcels -- 20 acres and 60 acres -- and is planning to expand the Nature Preserve late this year or early next year. Of course, this expansion will include more trails.

Group tours are available and can be set up by calling the center at 455-7522.

The Wetlands Park Visitors Center is run by two staffers and a crew of volunteers, without whom Sillitoe said it would be impossible to manage. He praised those volunteers and others who have come out to plant tender seedlings and otherwise help the park grow to a viable resource for locals.

There are no water fountains, no trash cans except in the parking lot and no places to buy food. This is a nature walk, not a stroll through the mall. Bring a bottle of water, a camera and binoculars. Commune with Mother Nature. You'll be thrilled by what you see and hear.

Carmel Hopkins, real estate product manager for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun, can be reached at 380-4574. Her e-mail address is Carmel_Hopkins@ reviewjournal.com. Snail mail is P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.

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