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Sloan Canyon NCA is Dedicated
By John Hiatt
On February 17, 2003 the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area (NCA) dedication ceremony was held at the current southern edge of Del Webb’s Anthem Development Project near Las Vegas. The clearly audible sound of rock crushers in the background provided a somewhat surreal air to the ceremony, emphasizing the “just in time” feeling that pervades any conservation victory in Southern Nevada these days.
Preserved for its rich human history and habitat for rare plant and animal species, including bighorn sheep, the remote Sloan Canyon, fifteen miles south of Las Vegas, east of Sloan exit on Highway I 15, will be part of a 14,763–acre wilderness area within the NCA. The primary focus of the NCA will be preservation of archaeological resources that occur over a much wider area than just Sloan Canyon. To protect while providing access will be a great challenge. The next three years will be spent conducting archaeological surveys of the area and writing a management plan. Hopefully, reverence for the area’s unique cultural values will shape the plan.
Thousands of petroglyphs and pictographs
The centerpiece of the Sloan Canyon NCA lies near the northwest edge and contains some 1700 petroglyphs, pictographs, and other artifacts in a portion of the canyon approximately 500 yards long. The age of these petroglyphs and pictographs range from pre–Columbian to historic times, clearly illustrating the rich human history of the area. This canyon continues to hold spiritual meaning to the native peoples of the area where it remains a sacred site for the intertribal community. It was very fitting that tribes like the Quechan of Imperial County, California, as well as local Paiutes were represented at the dedication ceremony.
The money to pay for the planning and management is intended to come from the sale of an approximately 560–acre parcel of Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land on the northern boundary of the NCA adjacent to Del Webb’s Anthem subdivision. It is estimated the auction of the parcel in November 2003 will bring 50 — 75 million dollars, 95% of which will be set aside for management of the NCA.
While sale of the parcel, which might have served as an important buffer between residential subdivisions and the conservation area is not without controversy, the dedication of the sale proceeds to protection of Sloan Canyon and the NCA is viewed by most as a reasonable trade–off.
We are deeply indebted to Senator Harry Reid (D–NV) for his long–time interest in Sloan Canyon and persistence in seeking protection for this invaluable resource. In a rare show of unanimity, Nevada’s entire congressional delegation supported creation of the Sloan Canyon NCA as part of the Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002.
John Hiatt is a Desert Committee activist living in Las Vegas, Nevada. This article was originally published in the Desert Report Spring 2003, a newsletter by the CNRCC Desert Committee of the Sierra Club.
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