The Spring Mountains ECHO

FOREST SERVICE RECREATION AND VISITOR CENTER UPDATE

By Tim Short, U.S. Forest Service

The summer recreation season has drawn to an end with the closing of the campgrounds and picnic areas due to cold temperatures and fewer customers. We typically experience a brief lull during the fall just before the winter recreation season. However, warm weekend days can attract a significant number of sightseers enjoying the fall colors and year-round beauty of the Spring Mountains. This is a time when Forest Service personnel are planning for the new fiscal year and the imminent winter recreation season which begins around Thanksgiving.

Some new changes are being planned this winter season to improve the services provided at the Kyle Visitor Center. First, we are making arrangements to have at least one employee available from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. on Saturdays and Sundays, starting November 8, 1997, and extending through the winter recreation season. This employee is from the BLM/USFS interagency dispatch center in Las Vegas. They will provide dispatching services from the visitor center via radio and phone and will return to the dispatch center in Las Vegas after the winter season. Second, additional support on Thursdays, Fridays and weekends is being explored by utilizing office staff from Las Vegas. We anticipate that volunteer support will continue to be needed to complement the availability of regular employees. Ultimately, our goal is to achieve regular visitor center operating hours to provide visitor information and other services such as the Interpretive Association Sales Outlet.

Within the visitor center, plans have been made with a volunteer to build sale display shelves and new counter displays. Working with the Spring Mountains Association (SMA), we are pursuing obtaining a cash register and an expanded list of approved sales items for the visitor center. Our hope is to use the visitor center and sales outlet in partnership with SMA to inform and educate customers of the special, unique nature of the Spring Mountains and to help provide a more enjoyable recreation experience. Surplus proceeds from the Sales Outlet are intended to further the interpretation and understanding of resource management on the national forests. These funds are typically used to purchase interpretive signs, provide visitor center staffing, and assist a wide range of educational and interpretive activities of the Forest Service.

If you are interested in helping staff the Kyle Visitor Center, please contact Buddy Lyons or Elaine Jones of the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area at 873-8800. They will help coordinate volunteer staffing needs with employees who will be operating the visitor center. (Editors Note: SMA Members volunteering to staff the Visitor's Center please contact Jack Borden at 642-9144 to coordinate with the Forest Service.)