Students leave the classroom to study spring

Heather Cory

Ed Price, assistant professor of Environmental Science, leads his class of Nevada State College students to the bottom of a wash just below the Lake Las Vegas dam where they are conducting a field project. The class is investigating the increasing amount of water that is coming out of the ground along the side of the canyon and cascading into the wash.

By Dave Clark (contact)

Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 | midnight

The mystery of a new springs near the Henderson entrance to Lake Mead National Recreation Area has caught the attention of a class of Nevada State College environmental science majors seeking the answer to their beginning.

On Nov. 17, a group of them led by environmental science assistant professor Ed Price headed to the area near Lake Las Vegas. The springs, nestled tightly into a canyon crevice, are framed by hanging gardens. Cottonwood trees have caught the eye of an enterprising beaver, which students spotted the week before.

Farther along the canyon walls beyond the cascading springs, water is everywhere. Two sites along the cliffs overlooking Las Vegas Wash are dotted with waterfalls pouring out of innumerable spots in the rock. Just a few feet above these well-defined areas, the desert still holds sway.

Price and his students find this juxtaposition fascinating.

"The wetlands is a totally different environment," Price said.

All semester students have been muddying their boots here, measuring things like pH, water flow, chemical composition and electroconductivity.

Cottonwood trees felled by the beaver provide another clue about the springs' origins. A core sample's rings can reveal the tree's age. So far, the class has discerned a few things.

"The output from the springs is increasing over time," Price said. "Why is the rate of water flow and the area of wet ground increasing?"

The springs were first noticed by class member Tim Olson, who gathers data from the nearby Las Vegas Wash for the U.S. Geological Survey. He tipped off Price, who thought the topic coincided neatly with the work the environmental science majors would be expected to perform on the job.

Before starting, students crafted health and safety plans illuminating the study's dangers, such as falling off a cliff or loose rocks in the wash. They also created a sample plan, specifying what types of measurements and readings students would take.

"The objective is to get some field experience with what they learned about in class," Price said.

On Nov. 17, students installed a stream flow measuring device at the base of the springs and calculated the flow at 6.85 gallons per minute. Students also tried to reconcile the divergent pH levels they recorded the same day. Later, a student drilled into the beaver-felled cottonwood to retrieve a core sample.

So far, students have discovered that the springs are cooler than the wash. The temperatures and electroconductivity fluctuate at greater intervals as well. And the trees found so far have ranged from five to nine years old.

Students say they are still far from gathering enough data to begin seriously analyzing it. When they are finished, they will turn their data over to Lake Mead officials.

"What we're doing here is documenting the springs and establishing a baseline that someone can look at later," Price said.

Sophomore Dee Huang was keen on taking what she learned in the classroom into a real-life situation.

"It's invaluable when you're trying to get a job to say, 'I've done this — I understand what I need to do,'" she said.

Huang's interest in environmental science was piqued by a geology class that persuaded her to dump her English major.

"I find it fascinating that we are in a desert yet there is so much water surrounding us that people aren't aware of," she said. "I just love doing this."

Dave Clark can be reached at 990-2677 or dave.clark@hbcpub.com.