Saving Mount Charleston

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 | 7:08 a.m.

Snow on Mount Charleston is a beacon to those living in the Las Vegas Valley below. Tuesday brought throngs up Kyle Canyon Road to play and grab a hot Irish coffee at the Mt. Charleston Lodge.

Just like any other snowy day, people walked on and stopped their cars on the narrow two-lane road that serves the small community near the top of the mountain, the highest point in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.

Unfortunately, snow doesn't just bring hordes of visitors eager to embrace the icy novelty. It also brings safety concerns and problems for the few hundred residents who live there, and environmental concerns over the impact of all the visitors.

The U.S. Forest Service hopes that a $53 million proposal could ease some of the safety and environmental worries.

The agency's plan, under development for years but soon to go before the public in detail, is to try to corral most visitors to Mount Charleston about halfway up Kyle Canyon Road, near the Mount Charleston Hotel. The Forest Service hopes to build a visitors center, biking and hiking trails, picnic areas, horse-riding trails and rental areas, campgrounds, an outdoor amphitheater, classrooms and more, all on the site of a failed golf course.

Stephanie Phillips, Forest Service supervisor for the Spring Mountains, said the recreation area gets 1.9 million visitors annually, and 80 percent to 90 percent of those visitors go up Kyle Canyon Road to the hotel and lodge.

"That's a lot of people, a lot of congestion, a lot of impacts on a very narrow area," she said.

Forest Service officials, mountain residents and conservationists believe the numbers will grow. Not only is the region growing generally, but new developments promise thousands of homes near the base of the mountain, off U.S. 95.

The hope is that by offering people a destination, people would be less inclined to go to the top of Kyle and Lee canyons - areas that include unique and rare species.

"There will still be access to the upper areas," Phillips said. "People will still want to go to them because of the snowfall, the large trees and the cooler temperatures.

But the Forest Service hopes it can entice a majority of visitors to limit their visit to the Middle Kyle Canyon Complex, which is the formal name of the project, she said.

"We will still have campgrounds and picnic areas at the upper areas, but we know those places can't accommodate all the people who will be coming up in the future."

The proposed visitors area is considered less environmentally fragile than those at higher elevations, but the site still is a sort of meeting point for three habitats that characterize the drive up the mountain: pinion juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine forest and desert highlands are all within hiking distance of the site.

Developer Alan Nel had planned to build a golf resort on 127 acres in the Middle Kyle Canyon area. But two years ago, the Forest Service, aided by nonprofit groups, bought the land for $15 million with proceeds from federal land sales in Clark County. More proceeds from the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act would pay the capital costs for the complex, but would not cover operating costs and other expenses.

As the Forest Service moves forward with an environmental impact study for the project, the agency also is developing a business plan that would look for ways to pay for those other costs.

Beth Moore, a Forest Service public affairs specialist, said the project's estimated $53 million price tag could change as the environmental impact study goes forward.

Moore and Hal Peterson, Middle Kyle Canyon project manager, toured the site during Tuesday's snowfall.

They said that elements being considered for the project include a shuttle service to take visitors to higher up the mountain, a public amphitheater, a pay-for-use sledding area and the potential for a nonprofit group dedicated to supporting the complex.

Peterson said that some work, including the demolition of the golf course clubhouse, will begin as soon as next month.

Moore noted that the Forest Service is not as experienced as other federal agencies such as the National Park Service in providing public recreational opportunities.

"We're not like most forests," Moore said. "We're an urban interface in the back yard of Las Vegas."

Forest Service officials said the environmental impact process could take 18 months. It's a potential that makes some mountain residents happy.

"It's going to be a good thing," said Becky Grismanauskas, chairwoman of the Mount Charleston Town Advisory Board, which provides land-use advice to the Clark County Commission. "I think most of us welcome the chance that this might in fact lessen the traffic on the mountain."

Environmentalist Susan Potts agreed.

"Population is increasing, and there's more and more people on the mountain, living nearby and going there for recreation," said Potts, who is conservation director for Friends of Nevada Wilderness. "I'm thrilled that people are going out to enjoy our natural beauty, but at the same time, we have to recognize that it puts a lot of pressure on the resource.

"By trying to spread that out, it's a way to deal with that pressure by offering different options, offering more education, and offering a variety of trails and habitats to enjoy."