Norton reopens Hoover Dam to tours

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2001 | 8:42 a.m.

Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton says that restoring tours at Hoover Dam should help energize a tourism industry that has been hurt in the wake of the terrorist attacks.

Norton, who visited the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area on Tuesday, plans to continue a tour of the state's public lands today with a visit to the dam. Norton was scheduled to meet with Gov. Kenny Guinn and Arizona Gov. Jane Hull at the dam to announce the restoration of tours at the historic site, which draws millions of tourists each year.

"Reopening the dam to tours will be a major boost to the tourist economy that has recently suffered," Norton said. "This will demonstrate to the world and to the American public that even though horrific acts such as those of Sept. 11 can affect us, they cannot close us down."

Norton will take the first tour into the dam's power plant, and the tour then will be open to the public.

Norton, who was also scheduled to speak at the Governor's Conference on Tourism at the Rio today, said that Las Vegas and the Western U.S. have borne the brunt of the wane in tourism.

"It's a very important issue for this part of the country," Norton said. "Nearly 15 million Las Vegas visitors spent time hiking, boating and enjoying the natural areas surrounding Las Vegas last year," Norton said at the Red Rock Visitors Center Tuesday.

"Those visits added $1.5 billion to the local economy and had visitors staying nearly two days longer in area hotels."

The success of natural areas such as Red Rock, Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area depends on cooperation between local representatives of federal agencies and volunteers, Norton said.

She added that she would like to see the cooperation between volunteers and local officials with the Bureau of Land Management mirrored at recreation areas and public lands across the country.

On Tuesday Norton recognized the Friends of Red Rock, the Interpretive Association and Outside Las Vegas, a group working to preserve and protect natural resources, and said she shares their goals.

"We couldn't do it without the volunteers, and we need to recognize and say thank you to them," Norton said. "We need to work together with the people that know and love the land."

The Friends of Red Rock and the Red Rock Interpretive Association, both nonprofit volunteer organizations, have provided more than 17,000 hours of service at the conservation area this year.

About 1.1 million visitors spend time in Red Rock annually, making it the BLM's most popular conservation area.

About 87 percent of Nevada is federally managed, including about 4.6 million acres in Clark County.

Norton's visit to Nevada is her first since being appointed to the interior post by President Bush. She manages the BLM, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Reclamation.

Norton said she plans to employ a strategy of bringing all sides to the table to work through problems, including disputes over off-road vehicle regulations, ranching and the designation of wilderness areas.

"I'm committed to ensuring that areas like Lake Mead, Mount Charleston and Red Rock are just as beautiful tomorrow as they are today," Norton said.