Volunteers improve canyon experience

Friday, Nov. 23, 2001 | 12:52 p.m.

When Chuck Williams and his wife, Pat, moved to Las Vegas from Indiana several years ago, the couple took advantage of the desert resources by hiking nearly every weekend -- outings that included meandering through the trails at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

"My wife and I enjoy hiking," Williams said. "We hiked out (at Red Rock) and thought, 'We ought to get into volunteering.' "

So three years ago they joined Friends of Red Rock Canyon, a nonprofit organization formed in 1984 to assist the Bureau of Land Management in coordinating volunteer efforts in the conservation area.

Today the Williamses are active members in the organization. Chuck is the group's president; Pat is membership coordinator.

"The desert, you either hate it or you love it," Chuck Williams said. "We love the desert. We love the mountains ... It's an opportunity to help out the national conservation area."

And with more than one million tourists, sports enthusiasts, sightseers and picnickers streaming through the area annually, the volunteer group is often on the lookout for anyone who might be interested in cleaning up trash, working on the group's newsletter or removing graffiti along the trails. Also sought are volunteers to lead interpretive hikes and help man the area's visitor center.

"We could always use more hike leaders, people on the natural resource team and (behind the) front desk," Williams said. "With 195,610 acres, it's a lot of area to cover."

Located roughly 10 miles west of Las Vegas, Red Rock Canyon offers visitors a 13-mile scenic drive that loops its way through hills spotted with Joshua trees, desert shrubs and other indigenous flora, past sandstone formations, hiking trails, vistas and picnic grounds. The area is home to coyotes, foxes, burros, desert tortoises, more than 100 bird species and helmeted rock climbers who frequent the area.

"There's a lot to do out there," said Elaine Billets, one of Friends of Red Rock's original members. "The main thing is that we have to treat it carefully. One of the answers is explaining what the resources are -- especially the cultural resources. If you destroy a petroglyph, it's not going to be replaced."

Educating the people to have a deeper appreciation of the area, she said, is essential to its livelihood.

Billets is president of the Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association, a not-for-profit organization formed with the help of Friends of Red Rock Canyon with a mission to enhance BLM's recreational, educational and interpretive programs.

Billets and Williams have been working together to find ways to increase the hikes and programs at Red Rock Canyon by reaching out to the interests of bicyclists and horseback riders who use the area. Both organizations use the help of volunteers.

Williams said many volunteers, similar to himself, have hiked the area and wanted to give back.

"We also have a large group of retirees," Williams said. "They volunteer behind the desk. They're usually people who have lived in town for a while and enjoy talking about (the area)."

Some volunteers put in 20 hours a year, he said. Others have put in more than 900 hours a year. The group also sells items in the gift shop and raises money to provide financial assistance to the area.

Volunteer-desk workers undergo 20 hours of training before getting to work behind the desk, and are usually asked to work at least four hours each month. Hike leaders are also trained on the wildlife and geology of the area, and also receive CPR and first-aid training.

Committees oversee the different needs of the area. For example, the Cultural Resources committee conducts archaeology surveys of the area; members of the landscaping committee oversee the grounds near the visitor center and fee booth; and the environmental education committee oversees workshops for teachers on desert ecology and archaeology.

"The idea," Billets said, "was to have it broad enough so that the volunteers could have something they enjoyed doing."