Calico Basin residents urge protection of area

Thursday, Nov. 14, 2002 | 9:08 a.m.

The Calico Basin and nearby springs in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area need more protection to preserve the habitat of a snail and other threatened wildlife, Bureau of Land Management officials told residents Wednesday.

If the springs, which include 15 to 20 acres of desert wetlands, are protected, the species may not become endangered, BLM botanist Gayle Morris-Smith said Wednesday night at a meeting in the Red Rock Visitors Center.

The Bureau of Land Management is asking for public comments about managing the area on the eastern edge of the conservation area. About 20 people spoke to BLM representatives, expressing their fears and hopes for the area.

Twenty-four residents live in Calico Basin, and many said nearby Red Springs, Ash Springs and Calico Springs should receive more care by the BLM, especially when it comes to the Spring Mountain spring snail, the Mariposa lily and the white bearpoppy. The three species are threatened by continued development.

"I'd just as soon put a great, big hefty fee on the whole area," Calico Basin resident Susan Selman said. "It's such a sensitive area."

Several suggested restricting access to the area after dark, just as the 13-mile scenic loop around Red Rock is closed.

"How can you keep people out?" asked Mary Collins. "If it was mine, I would just fence it."

It's not that the Calico Basin residents think they can stop up to 100 visitors a day to Red Springs, Collins said. "People just don't have respect," she said.

Beer bottles, trash, graffiti on the red sandstone and fewer visits from desert bighorn sheep are the results of people escaping urban Las Vegas, Calico Basin residents said.

"That big, old city is coming out here to swallow us up," said Ken West, who worked for the Clark County Sheriff's Office and Metro Police from 1959 to 1990 and retired to Calico Basin.

Patrick Putnam, BLM project manager, said a protection plan for the springs should be ready within a year, including a balance between protecting natural resources such as the springs and developing more parking.

"It's a balance for us," he said of the federal agency that allows multiple uses on its lands.

"My fear is, if it is destroyed some day soon, then it's too late to save," Gary Plumlee said, noting that population growth and the Las Vegas Beltway, which brings traffic closer to the area, are the biggest threats to the springs.

Residents are concerned that Sandstone Road west of their homes, which is owned by Clark County, will attract more off-road vehicles, some of which trample plants and the red rocks themselves.

Clark County officials are working with the BLM on a plan for the road, said Wendy Zahniser Fenner, an associate engineer.

"Something like this is so precious, you don't want to rush it," she said. "You want to do it right."