Columnist Susan Snyder: Range of reasons to enjoy Range

Monday, Oct. 11, 2004 | 8:20 a.m.

Vic Cantu and George shared the peace and quiet of the Desert Wildlife Range visitors' center Friday morning.

George is the desert bighorn sheep whose taxidermy gaze is fixed over the gift shop's cash register. Cantu works for the Red Rock Interpretive Association, which has just opened the new visitors' center gift shop.

George doesn't offer Cantu much in the way of conversation. But the two will likely have plenty of company following the grand opening of the new shop Saturday, which is one of the events scheduled for National Wildlife Refuge Week.

"We kind of want to say, 'Here we are. We're growing. Come on out and grow with us,' " said Dick Birger, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service project leader for the 1.6-million acre Desert Wildlife Range.

The area north of Las Vegas is the largest wildlife refuge in the 48 contiguous states. Only Alaska has a larger one.

A whole lineup of activities are planned to help visitors get out and explore Southern Nevada's three wildlife refuges. But you might need a map to get started. Go get one. We'll wait.

OK, the first major event is an open house from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Pahranagat National Wildife Refuge, which sits on the west side of U.S. 93, about 90 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The festivities will include nature activities for children, food, prize giveaways and a performance by local musician Elwyn Robinson.

The Pahranagat's 5,380 acres provide an important nesting area for many varieties of migratory birds and offer vast opportunities for fishing, hiking, camping, hunting and, of course, bird-watching.

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and Death Valley National Park will jointly celebrate 20 years of conservation from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday. There will be nature activities, visits from the Blue Goose and Smokey Bear, food, prize giveaways and guided tours of the boardwalks that start at Point of Rocks and Devil's Hole.

The 23,000-acre Ash Meadows is about 90 miles west of Las Vegas and 30 miles west of Pahrump. From Las Vegas, head north on U.S. 95, then turn south on State Route 160. Drive past the town of Crystal, then follow the signs to the refuge (told you to get a map). Information tents will help visitors find the starting points for the guided hikes.

And, of course, Saturday is the big grand opening for the Desert Wildlife Range's bookstore and gift shop.

Although gift-shop hikers make nature purists shudder, more people will want to protect a place if they've been there and bought the T-shirt.

"We're becoming more of an urban refuge as time goes by," Birger said, citing housing developments that march ever-closer to the range's southern boundary.

Birger and his small staff contend with wildlife habitat damage caused by unauthorized all-terrain vehicle users. Even visitors who try to behave properly often don't understand that a wildlife refuge is not the same as a park. Wildlife conservation is first and paramount to human recreational uses.

Still, Birger wants to see people enjoying the center, the Corn Creek wildlife-viewing area and the guided hikes that are in the planning stages.

"As it becomes a more community-valued area, the appropriate uses tend to drive out the inappropriate uses," he said.