Trails buffer city, wilderness

     Circling the mountains between Henderson and Lake Mead, the River Mountains Loop Trail will act as a protective barrier between urban development and a fragile wildlife habitat, according to Alan O'Neill, superintendent of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
      The $4.5 million project connecting the Las Vegas Valley to the lake with a trail system is one of several local initiatives combining recreational and ecological functions. Other areas include the Red Rock National Conservation Area to the west of the valley, the Desert National Wildlife Refuge to the north of the valley and the Desert Wetlands Park in the Las Vegas Wash south of Sunrise Mountain.
      "We're preserving the heritage of (Southern Nevada), the biodiversity," O'Neill said. "Nowhere else will we have the layers of protection that we'll have here."
      Trails are of particular importance to conservation issues around the county, he said, because they allow the public to view wildlife, and visit historic and archaeological sites. They also provide a buffer zone from development.
      "There's so much to see if you live here. We have fields of wildflowers, petroglyphs, we have six life zones around here ...," he said.
      O'Neill and other federal land managers are working on a plan to encourage use and respect for the region's outdoors.
      "That's going to be the trick; getting people to appreciate these areas while still protecting it," O'Neill said. "There's a lot of things you just can't do on these lands. (For instance), nothing can be taken out of Lake Mead, not even rocks. We have lots of petrified wood out at the lake and no one's allowed to take it."
      Of primary importance to park officials is habitat protection. There are 79 species indigenous to Clark County that officials are actively protecting under the Multiple Species Conservation Plan, which has been in effect for about 4 1/2 years, according to Cindy Truelove, administrator of the Desert Conservation Plan for the county. She said the county will spend $2 million on the plan next year, up from $1.6 million this year.
      By enacting the program, the county is stemming possible mandates by the federal government. Already, the county must fulfill requirements of the Endangered Species Act in protecting the desert tortoise. Projects such as the Desert Wetlands Park are "primarily a species issue," according to Truelove.
      "We've been able to keep everyone happy," Truelove said. "The enviros are happy because our program allows the protection to come up front. The home builders see it as an insurance policy against further restrictions. And the off-roaders see it as a deal where they get continued use of trails in recreation lands."

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