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Calcium carbonate deposits are seen in the Elington Preserve area of the the upper Las Vegas wash in North Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday Aug. 12, 2009.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 | 2 a.m.
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Beyond the Sun
Long-awaited legislation to turn a large patch of desert filled with thousands of ice-age fossils north of Las Vegas into a national monument operated by the National Park Service will be filed later this year.
Sources say the legislation would preserve 23,000 acres roughly north of the Aliante Station resort running west to U.S. 95 and gently arcing north to about Corn Creek. Some say the legislation could drop within a matter of weeks; others say it will be months.
Fossils were found in the area more than a half-century ago. Researchers have slowly excavated mammoth, camel and other fossils for years. Access to the area is currently allowed only with permission of the Bureau of Land Management.
Collecting 10,000 petition signatures, a group known as the Protectors of Tule Springs has rallied for some kind of federal protection since the mid-2000s. Every governmental group touching the area — North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nellis Air Force Base and Clark County — has expressed support for the idea, especially since the recession severely dampened prospects of development.
At one time, Las Vegas anticipated running a major road through the area.
To date, some 10,000 fossils — estimated to be about 1 percent of the fossil treasure — have been found in the area, most of them preserved in climate-controlled cases at the San Bernardino County Museum.
Nevada’s U.S. Sen. Harry Reid and U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley are expected to co-sponsor the Tule Springs legislation.
Via email, Berkley said turning Tule Springs into a national monument would “ensure this site remains protected for visitors from around the world to continue to enjoy.” Neither Reid nor Berkley estimated when legislation might be introduced.
At the same time, Sen. Dean Heller, sources said, is expected to reintroduce legislation to turn some 10,000 acres known as the Nellis Dunes into an off-highway recreation area. Sources also said Rep. Joe Heck is expected to introduce a bill to convert a 350,000-acre area near Mesquite known as Gold Butte into a national conservation area, similar to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. But a spokesman for Heck said he was not planning to introduce legislation.
The Bureau of Land Management would be in charge of the Nellis Dunes and Gold Butte projects. The real plum would be getting the National Park Service’s oversight of the Tule Springs fossils, because the Park Service is typically written into the federal budget. Fees or some other form of funding would likely be needed to manage Nellis Dunes and Gold Butte.
The Tule Springs fossil-rich area is already on the Register of National Historic Places. In the 1960s, it was the first place radiocarbon dating was tested after the remains of ice-age horses, lions, mammoths and sloths were found.
Ideas for what the site might look like and how it might operate are filled with visions of bringing busloads of Clark County students there for research and study; another idea posited was to create a digging area, where tourists would pay a fee to work on an excavation in a designated area.
One unlikely change is the existence of NV Energy’s massive utility poles and lines that run through the targeted national monument area. While those poles and lines are not optimal for a national monument area, sources say attempts to get NV Energy to remove or relocate them have not worked.
Why are the bones on display in San Bernadino? Oh yeaaaaaaa...that's right, WE don't have a true museum in Las Vegas. We have wanna-be museums and have for the 40 plus years I've been here. There used to be digs at the Valley of Fire, not much interest there, there were a few digs up on Mt. Charleston a long time ago, also, not much interest there...so...will there truly be interest in future fossil digs? Sounds good, but so does a big mac....yet its not always good for you! And who is going to pay for maintaining the sites? And how are we going to keep it funded? I don't know about you all, but I'm pretty much tapped out with all the increases in utility rates, gas prices, and don't get me started on the heavy increases in food prices~!! Should it be preserved? You betcha. Once again, how 'bout ask the mining industry to pitch in a few dollars off their billions and billions of profits...?? Uh huh, cough cough...good luck with that.
As a citizen, educator, hobby geoologist, and lifelong rock hound, it thrills me to have such an a historic area near by. This fossil rich area would provide a fabulous opportunity to bring in students to explore history, learn hands-on archeology, and help promote collections for our own local museums.
I am most encouraged by,"Ideas for what the site might look like and how it might operate are filled with visions of bringing busloads of Clark County students there for research and study; another idea posited was to create a digging area, where tourists would pay a fee to work on an excavation in a designated area."
Since NV Energy plans to run power lines through the area, it might be an idea to have the "bug and bone people" supervise any excavation, and retrive any finds, repurpose the useless chips, bits, and pieces for a public "dino dig" pile that has a small fee for the thrill of experiencing fossil hunting. That will help pay for running and staffing the attraction and monument.
Elementary students go absolutely bonkers over rocks, minerals, and fossils. Yesterday, I had started this unit, and pulled out my lifelong collections, and it totally lit the fires of inquiry and imagination. They never tire of it, and it piques an interest that brings them into a hobby that lasts their lifetime as well.
Blessings and Peace,
Star
That we would invite the Federal Government to seal up and destroy thousands more acres in the Sovereign State of Nevada is unbelievable. When will we look at this as an invasion by a foreign government with the sole purpose to harm us as citizens of a state.
This type of invasion is the most dangerous 'terror' that most of us will ever face.
The book telling the story of the woman who fought at Wounded Knee and was buried somewhere in California as an unknown is as comparable in measure of historical facts as is the National Park Service's new park of historical bones teeth and claws.
I dislike that the feds get this land.
I also would dislike it if developers got to ruin it with pasteboard houses and apartment ghettos as they have done to thousands of acres in the valley.
The proposed National Monument will take lands that are already federal lands, under BLM management with restrictive access, and have been a dumping ground for years. National Monument status will open them up for the enjoyment of all, and ensure a first-class facility with interactive exhibits, museums, and fossil archives right here in the valley.
National Parks are an economic engine for the communities in which they reside. Studies support that each $1 of funding for a National Park unit, brings $4 to the local economy.
This is a win/win for us all.
Gee maybe they'll figure out about the "Indian" remains found in Nevada caves--50,000 years old or so--people have been here long before the Italians arrived.
Probably a huge win for the BLM Rangers and archeo. folks too!