License plates to help fund Big Springs project

Thursday, March 11, 1999 | 11:12 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Without comment, the Senate has passed and sent to the Assembly a bill to preserve the "Birthplace of Las Vegas" -- the Big Springs Archaeological District.

The vote on Wednesday was 21-0 on Senate Bill 204, which provides for the issuance of a special motor vehicle license plate to finance the project headed by the Las Vegas Valley Water District.

The district will work with the state Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety to design the plate, which will cost $35 initially in addition to other regular fees. There will be an extra $10 a year renewal fee.

"This bill is making great progress," said J.C. Davis, public information coordinator for the water district. There is "enthusiastic support" in the Las Vegas Valley for these license plates.

According to budget estimates presented to the Senate Transportation Committee, it will cost $2.2 million for surveys of the soil, bats, plants, large mammals and reptiles. The plan calls for eradication of the Russian knapweed and salt cedar in the area.

There is $180,000 set aside for restoration of the historic houses and close to $1 million for plans and design.

A number of agencies are participating in the preservation effort, including UNLV, the Clark County Health Department, the Red Rock Audubon Society, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the state Department of Agriculture, the state Division of Forestry and the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies at UNLV.

Some studies are already under way, including research on the hydrological and biological aspects of the 180-acre site. There have been more than 30 public workshops and more are planned to "develop a blueprint" on how the property should be used, Davis said.

For instance, there are plans for a visitors center, but the question is whether it should be large or blend into the environment. Other issues include whether the trails should require guides, whether there should be a historical museum and what its focus should be, and where parking should be located.

Big Springs is bordered by U.S. 95 on the north, Alta Drive on the south and Valley View Boulevard on the west. It was visited as long as 6,000 years ago, and travelers on the Spanish and Mormon trails made stops at the site.

It was the primary water source in the Las Vegas Valley until the 1950s, when demand depleted the artesian wells.

Reservoirs, water pumping stations and a retention basin remain on the land. Cottonwood trees and meadows stretch across the north end of the property, and the south is desert.

The bill was expected to arrive in the Assembly today and is not expected to encounter much, if any, opposition.

Shortly before passage of the bill, Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, introduced a measure to create a special license plate for the support of agriculture. And pending in the Assembly is a bill by Kathy Von Tobel, R-Las Vegas, for issuance of a special plate to help preserve and restore the natural environment of the Mount Charleston Wilderness of the Toiyabe National Forest.