The Spring Mountains ECHO

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Bobbye Fitzgibbons

The Board of Directors has made a decision that the Festival In The Pines will be held only at the Las Vegas Ski & Snow Board Resort at the top of Lee Canyon again this year. An on-site inspection was made on Saturday, June 28, 1997, by Board members Charles Washington, John O'Donnell, Jack Borden and Pat Fitzgibbons, together with Russell Highfield and Jack Bean. New spaces have been made available at the Las Vegas Ski & Snow Board Resort for additional booths, probably up to sixty or seventy if necessary.

That day was also Plant-a-Pine and the SMA participated along with several other sponsoring groups. This year the planting was done at Fletcher View Campground in Kyle Canyon and consisted of mostly of Mountain Mahogany, wild roses and Quaking Aspen. A drip system was installed to improve the survival chances of these young plants.

Following the Plant-a-Pine there was a meeting with Tim Short, Don Estes and Gary Campbell of the U.S. Forest Service regarding the proposed interpretive trail. Gary Campbell is the acting District Ranger, at least on a temporary basis.

The next meeting of the Officers and Board of Directors, and other interested members of the Spring Mountain Association has been set for Thursday, July 24, 1997 at 5:30 p.m. at 214 S. Maryland Parkway, the conference room of the law firm of Fitzgibbons & Anderson. All interested members of the SMA are invited to attend. The main topic will be the forthcoming Festival In The Pines. Grants have been applied for again this year with the State of Nevada Commission on Tourism and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

We are in dire need of getting the operational plan for the Spring Mountain National Recreational Area approved and into effect. The recent 4th of July three day weekend was a good example. A staggering number of motor vehicles and people visited the mountain. Of course, the camp and picnic grounds were filled to capacity due to the lack of plan implementation, dozens of would be campers and picnickers spent a great deal of time driving around looking for camping and picnicking spaces which did not exist in the established areas. We need a way to inform people that certain established picnic and camp ground areas are full to avoid needless waste of time, traffic and pollution looking for spaces that don't exist.

Of course we need additional campgrounds on both sides of the mountain, that is the East and Southwest sides, so that the camping/picnicking experience would be available to more local and out-of-state visitors so they can enjoy the beauty, cool, clean and fresh air of the mountain experience. An additional year round campground is needed in Lee Canyon, if we can acquire the old Ron Rudden property, now owned by builder Jim Rhodes, for the Forest Service. Also, at least two large camp/picnic grounds are needed on the Pahrump side of the mountain, if funding can be approved.

While on this subject, I might mention that a larger and more accessible visitor center and Museum is needed in Kyle Canyon with additional staffing. Also, with the transfer of Dan Hawkes to Idaho, our Spring Mountain National Recreational Area, serving over three million visitors a year, is left with a single U. S. F. S. law enforcement officer.