Tuesday, April 28, 1998 | 10:46 a.m.
For generations of Southern Nevadans, the Mount Charleston area has been an oasis, especially in the summer.
One of the wonderful things about the area is how little in common it has with Las Vegas. When it's 105 on a July afternoon, it's likely to be about 20 degrees cooler at Mount Charleston. And after experiencing a week's worth of bumper-to-bumper traffic during rush hour, it's nice to drive to the mountain on a weekend without worrying about road rage. Mount Charleston is one of the few places in Southern Nevada that has been spared the urban jungle, replete with strip shopping malls and convenience stores.
That's why a Western-themed shopping center and convenience store approved by the Clark County Commission for the Mount Charleston area should serve as a wake-up call for those who are concerned about preserving this vital natural resource. This commercial development at the base of Mount Charleston is a bellwether for the future of Lee Canyon as well, according to Alan Pinkerton, the U.S. Forest Service's assistant supervisor of the Spring Mountains. "This is a wake-up call for the Southern Nevada community," Pinkerton told SUN reporter Mary Manning. "How important are the private lands near wilderness areas?"
Developing pockets of private land in the middle of wilderness areas will only harm the area, not preserve it. The Mount Charleston area already attracts 1.5 million visitors a year, and further commercial development could end up increasing the number significantly.
In Northern Nevada, Lake Tahoe is revered and care is taken to make sure that its natural beauty is not destroyed. In Southern Nevada, we need to treat Mount Charleston with the respect it deserves, otherwise it will just end up as another congested suburb of Las Vegas.
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