Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Bureau of Reclamation seeks comments on grass plan

Grass

Cassie Tomlin

Grass outside the Bureau of Reclamation’s historic administration building is mostly dead. The Bureau is working on a plan to rehabilitate the grass.

Click to enlarge photo

The Bureau of Reclamation has worked with landscaping and irrigation professionals to develop a plan to rehabilitate the grass outside the Bureau's administration building.

Grass plans

Click here to view the landscaping plan online.

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Bureau of Reclamation

The Bureau of Reclamation says it has a plan to rehabilitate the dying lawn at its historic administration building, this time by summer.

Last spring's yellowing patches have now engulfed the sprawling lawn, blanketing the hill in straw with a few green islands.

The city maintains the grass in Wilbur Square below it, which appears green and healthy.

The bureau worked with landscaping and irrigation professionals to develop the plan and now is inviting public comment.

Work will begin this month: The sprinkler heads will be replaced, the Bermuda-fescue grass will be mowed very low and seeds and fertilizer will be added, according to a Feb. 20 document from Lorri Gray-Lee, regional director.

The bureau last July said it would take the same steps and had anticipated the grass to be green again by last September.

In July, a spokesman said mulch buildup from leftover lawn cuttings had restricted water to the lawn's roots.

Now, the bureau also plans to manually control its irrigation system, apply pesticides and insert sulpher.

The 70-year-old lawn has for years been a battleground for historic preservationists, who say the grass preserves Boulder City's authentic look, against bureau representatives, who had said watering the expansive lawn was irresponsible during a drought.

Residents in 2004 fought the bureau's plans to replace the grass with desert landscaping, and the bureau then removed only the lawn not visible from the street, saving 100,000 gallons of water a month.

Now in summer months, it puts 400,000 gallons of city water on the hill, which costs about $800 a month, a spokesman said.

Cassie Tomlin can be reached at 948-2073 or [email protected].

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