Peace reigns in Spring Mountains

Wednesday, June 23, 2004 | 8:25 a.m.

Off-roaders, environmental enthusiasts and officials all agree that no more new trails will be coming to the Spring Mountains any time soon.

In such a debate over trails criss-crossing the Spring Mountains, usually the battle divides those who want to protect the environment from those who would rather accelerate up a deserted stretch of the mountains. But in this case, there has been nary a backfire from either side.

U.S. Forest Service officials, for the most part, left about 70 miles of designated roads and trails open for off-road vehicles to roam in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.

Most of the trails already exist. Many of them are dead-end trails. And the Forest Service could revise its trail plan as more scientific information becomes available in the area.

The remaining trails open to motorized off-roaders "will be signed and posted clearly on the ground," the recent Forest Service decision said. In addition, education kiosks and maps will be provided for those venturing into the Spring Mountains.

In the past, off-road vehicle users have protested restrictions on desert lands preserved for endangered species such as the Mojave Desert tortoise and other barriers to free-wheeling access.

In the case of the trails, however, members of the Las Vegas Jeep Club and the Southern Nevada Regional Trails Partnership submitted some of the 148 comments received by mail, e-mail and phone supporting the project.

Those who consider themselves environmental advocates, such as John Hiatt, said there was nothing to complain about.

"Why would the off-roaders complain?" Hiatt asked. "The Forest Service didn't close anything. It's a good first step in getting a handle on off-road travel."

It took 1 1/2 years of work for the trails to be defined throughout the entire 316,000 acres of the Spring Mountains, project leader Connie Moen said.

"We've really had good discussion with off-roaders," Moen said. "They're real excited about having designated trails and sign posts."

The chief reason the Forest Service considered designated trails is to prevent new ones from being carved into the Spring Mountains, District Ranger Steve Holdsambeck said.

Holdsambeck issued the decision on Friday, the day he left Southern Nevada to take a fire safety officer's post in Utah.

But before he left, Holdsambeck said that cross-country vehicles and motorcycles cut between 10 miles and 15 miles of new trails per year, scarring the Spring Mountains, causing erosion and raising dust once the mountains' natural crust cracks.

"This decision is a significant first step toward both protecting the resources and values of the Spring Mountain NRA (National Recreation Area) and providing OHV (off-highway vehicle) users with a quality trail system," Holdsambeck wrote.

Explosive growth in the Las Vegas and Pahrump valleys focused Forest Service efforts to provide access to designated trails in the 493-square-mile recreation area.

Six alternative plans were reviewed and analyzed for everything from natural and archaeological resources to safety features, Moen said.

If anyone files an appeal within 45 days, it could delay the opening of the trail system, Moen said.

One area within the recreation area did not change status. Mount Stirling in the Spring Mountains would be a wilderness study area under the recommended resolution. A trail meanders toward Indian Springs. It had been a popular motorized trail but has been withdrawn from the trail system. There will be no decision until Congress decides if the area becomes a wilderness area.

A handful of trails near the base of Kyle Canyon, where proposed subdivisions and horseback riders are expected in the future have been closed. Most were fragments of illegal trails.

On the western side of the Spring Mountains, Carpenter Canyon's off-road trail was partially closed near a streambed.

One of the alternatives called for no action, meaning the entire recreation area would be open to motorized travel except about 197-square-miles, a part of the recreation area that is wilderness.

Environmental advocates and government officials have pointed out that the growing burgeoning population of the Las Vegas Valley is threatening endemic species and wild landscapes in the Spring Mountain Range, west of Las Vegas.

Sensitive species listed in the area include the admiral blue butterfly, Palmer's chipmunk, Clokey's milk-vetch, Rosy King sandwort and two dozen other species. The species exist nowhere else on earth.