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Take Action for Gold Butte |
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Where is it? Gold Butte is two hours east of Las Vegas and just south of Mesquite. Bordered on the east by Arizona’s Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, it is often referred to as “Nevada’s piece of the Grand Canyon puzzle” or “Mesquite’s Red Rock Canyon.” The area is surrounded by Lake Mead to the west and south, and the Virgin River in the north.
Why does it need protection? Gold Butte’s landscape is rich in archeological, cultural and biological resources, including thousands of Native American petroglyphs, mining era artifacts, the Las Vegas poppy, desert bighorn sheep and the federally endangered desert tortoise. Though remote, the area has suffered dramatically in the last 30 years from explosive growth in Las Vegas, Mesquite and St. George, UT. The area is steadily being degraded by off-road vehicle abuse, vandalism of cultural resources and the spread of invasive plant species. The volume of visitors to Gold Butte has skyrocketed in the last five years, and so has the need for protection.
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How can I help?
Please plan to attend the Clark County Commission meeting in late March, 2010.
Over the last three to four weeks, NWP volunteers called their county commissioners and asked them to put Gold Butte on their agenda. Well, it worked. Soon the commission will vote on a resolution to support Gold Butte National Conservation Area with Wilderness. (Learn more about these designations here.)
When: we'll post the exact date as soon as we know the resolution is on the agenda (late March or early April)
Where: Clark County Commission Chambers
Government Center
500 S. Grand Central Parkway
Las Vegas, NV
Why: Gaining the Clark County Commission's resolution is a critical step in our work to introduce federal legislation that will give Gold Butte the permanent habitat protection it needs--and we can't do it without your participation.
Thank you. By getting our "seats in the seats" at this meeting, we will help the Clark County Commission do the right thing: throw its support behind protection of Gold Butte. The Las Vegas Paiutes and the City of Mesquite, NV have already passed resolutions in support of this incredible area, and the Clark County folks need to step up and do the same.
Not a Clark County resident? - Or do you just want to do more?
- Contact Congresswoman Titus or Berkley to protect Gold Butte.
- Congresswoman Titus, call 202-225-3252 or via email
- Congresswoman Berkley, call 202-225-5965 or via email
- Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper voicing support for greater protection of Gold Butte.
- E-mail your two Senators, Reid and Ensign, urging them to support Gold Butte legislation in the Senate.
- Visit Gold Butte! Check our events calendar for an outing, or contact us to schedule one for your group.
- Join Friends of Gold Butte, a mesquite-based non-profit that sponsors educational slideshows and outings.
- Not sure of your district? Find all Nevada congressional districts and representatives' contact info here.
What is Gold Butte’s current status? In September of ’08, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley introduced a bill that would have resulted in a Gold Butte National Conservation Area of 362,177 acres and designate more than 200,000 acres of BLM and Park Service as Wilderness with a capital “W.” (Click here to learn more about these designations.) Due to the economic collapse and subsequent stimulus bill debates, the Gold Butte bill did not come to vote. In October '09, however, the Mesquite City Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting National Conservation Area and Wilderness designations for Gold Butte, and the Las Vegas Paiutes did the same in January of 2010. We are currently working with Nevada’s congressional representatives to introduce a new Gold Butte bill. (You can read the old legislation here.)
For more information, please contact NWP's Gold Butte Organizer Nancy Hall (Mesquite) |
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THREATS:
This recent hill climb blazed by ATVs has grown to road proportions. Hill climbs like this one are illegal in Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), and cause erosion.
- Sandwiched between two of America’s fastest growing counties (Clark County, NV and Washington County, UT) Gold Butte is experiencing an unprecedented number of visitors.
- Off road vehicle route proliferation – visitation to the area has skyrocketed since 2000. Impacts from increased off-road vehicle use have resulted in vandalism to Native American rock art and cultural sites, including bullet holes in petroglyphs, trash and graffiti.
- The area lacks a clear management directive and currently has only one law enforcement officer responsible for over 300,000 acres, and that staff person is only available in the area four days a week.
- Photo: This recent hill climb created by ATVs has grown to the size of a road. Hill climbs like this one are illegal in Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), and promote erosion.
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Thoughtless vandals have played target practice with Native American rock art.
ATV and motorcycle riders leave scars on the delicate cryptogamic crust. The living crust could take 100 years to recover from this damage.
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Wildlife:
- Threatened desert tortoise habitat
- Critical Gambel’s quail habitat
- Critical habitat for desert bighorn sheep
- Important habitat for Golden eagles and migratory birds, such as the colorful Scott's oriole, various hummingbird and warbler species
- Numerous raptor and owl species
- Important connectivity of unfragmented habitat adjacent to 600,000-acre Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument
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Natural and Scenic Values:
- Dramatic geologic formations, including slot canyons, stunning red rock cliffs, countless canyons and washes draining into the Colorado River.
- Unique landscape combining Great Basin, Mojave, Sonoran and Colorado Plateau desert life zones.
- Diversity ranges from Douglas fir and white fir in the higher elevations, and cholla and Joshua trees at lower elevations. The only pocket of Arizona cypress in Nevada can be found in the Gold Butte area.
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The Grotto at Gold Butte.
Photo by Woods Wheatcroft
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Archaeological & Cultural Resources:
- Spectacular cultural resources, including petroglyphs and agave roasting pits.
- Nominated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Sites.
- Prehistoric rock shelters dating back over 4000 years, continued use of roasting pits dating back to 400 BC.
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A Clark County poll conducted in 2008 measured people's views on designating public lands as Wilderness and other protections for natural resources. Here are the results of the Clark County Poll:
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Clark County Poll - Key Findings
