A new national park would help Nevada

Lynn Davis

Thursday, April 5, 2012 | 2 a.m.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar made a welcome stop in Las Vegas this week to meet with Gov. Brian Sandoval, Sen. Harry Reid and Southern Nevada tourism executives to discuss the economic benefits of our public lands.

In a state of sweeping vistas, majestic mountains, unusual geologic formations, native artifacts and pioneer history, we have much to celebrate and many opportunities to better preserve these places and our state’s history.

Sandoval, Clark County commissioners, and the mayors and city councils of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas have unanimously registered their support to create at least one new national park site: Tule Springs National Monument, on the northern outskirts of the Las Vegas Valley. There, in the shadow of imposing Gass Peak, remain thousands of fossils of Ice Age mammoths, massive bison and American lions, sloths the size of small sports cars, and at least two species of ancient horse. Such an impressive array of fossils spanning nearly 250,000 years is expected to attract scientific interest as well as tourists from around the world.

Tule Springs, and other places within Nevada of natural or cultural distinction that we might inventory and promote, holds great potential to bring in tourism dollars. Right now, we are not fully taking advantage of the millions of tourists who visit national park sites.

Take Arizona, with its nearly two dozen national park sites and branded as the Grand Canyon State, attracts more than 10 million annual visitors and generates $700 million in corresponding revenues. Or consider Utah, with the famed delicate arch illustrated on the official state license plate, brings in more than 9 million annual visitors and $600 million in yearly revenues; not to mention it won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics as it promoted its powdery snow and more than a dozen national park sites.

In Nevada, we have Great Basin National Park in a remote north east part of the state, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and a small piece of Death Valley National Park which juts across the California-Nevada state line. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, 2 in 10 visitors to Las Vegas — nearly 8 million travelers last year — reported visiting a nearby national park, historic site or other natural wonder. Most find their way to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, Death Valley, Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire. Many fly into Las Vegas and head out of state to visit the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce Canyon national parks.

National parks support jobs and benefit local economies nationwide. In fact, the National Parks Conservation Association has found that every dollar invested in national parks generates at least four dollars of economic value to the public. This ratio may be even higher as it relates to Tule Springs, given its proximity to millions of Las Vegas tourists.

Within Tule Springs is opportunity for an engaging, compelling national monument that will attract worldwide interest and preserve a national treasure for our children and grandchildren to enjoy. We encourage Salazar, Sandoval, Reid and all Southern Nevada citizens to embrace this opportunity by introducing and supporting legislation to make this vision a reality.

Lynn Davis is the Nevada senior program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association.