Harry Mortenson recalled as ‘calming voice’ in Nevada politics, conservation

Harry Mortenson wasn’t one for drawing attention to himself with political theatrics.

The retired nuclear physicist who served in the Nevada Assembly was better known for being quiet but steadfastly persuasive in his policy approach, according to associates who worked with him on preservation and conservation-related issues. Mortenson, 84, died Wednesday. He had served as a Democratic assemblyman in District 42 in Las Vegas from 1996 to 2010, when term limits prevented him from running again.

The fruits of Mortenson’s policy work didn’t end then, though. He had a strong hand in supporting preservation efforts at Tule Springs. Just three months ago, President Barack Obama signed legislation that turned the 22,650-acre tract into Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, putting an area rich with fossils under the protection of the national park system.

“We struggled with Congress for years,” said Jill DeStefano, president of Protectors of Tule Springs. “He was always the calming voice.”

DeStefano said she’s glad Mortenson got to see the area become a national monument in December.

“He was just an advocate for everything Nevada,” DeStefano said. “He was so interested in making sure Nevada remained a space with a lot of open spaces for our population and our kids.”

Before he was in the Nevada Assembly, Mortenson’s career included working as a section leader and staff member at the Los Alamos, N.M., national laboratory, including at a nuclear rocket reactor project at the Nevada Test Site, now called the Nevada National Security Site, in the 1960s and early 1970s.

During that time, he worked on nuclear rocket reactor technology, including development of safety systems, instrumentation systems to control in-flight nuclear rocket engines, and monitoring systems.

Later he worked as a consultant, offering guidance in areas like satellite communications and evaluating nuclear hazards. That work landed him diverse clients and work — from nuclear and radiation technical guidance at AWC Lockheed in Las Vegas to satellite communications for the former Imperial Palace on the Strip.

Mortenson also operated nuclear reactors in the 1950s before the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission started to issue licenses to reactor operators. He later received a license in the late 1950s.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Roanoke College in 1952; a master’s degree in physics and mathematics from Duke University in 1954; and later did doctoral studies at the University of Virginia.

But Mortenson probably wouldn’t have gone out of his way to tell all that to you.

“The one thing that strikes me about Harry was his his humility,” said Rob Mrowka, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “At the same time, he was so passionate about the cultural and natural heritage of Nevada.”

That extended well beyond Tule Springs.

“He was just a genuine conservationist,” Mrowka said. “He did it in such an unintrusive manner. A lot of times, it went unnoticed. He was just a kind and gentle person, but at the same time very influential and persuasive.”

Mortenson’s colleagues in the Legislature recognized him last week.

“Harry was one interesting individual,” Sen. Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, said last week on the Senate floor. “He was a nuclear physicist and served in the Legislature for 12 years until he termed out in 2010. He was Chair of the Constitutional Amendments Committee — a role which fit him perfectly. A lot of us will remember Harry Mortenson. He was quite a witty man. He was very involved in the arts among other things. Please keep Harry, his wife and his family in your thoughts and prayers. “

He married Helen H. Wood Mortenson in 1957, and they have three children — Eric, Lisa and Kirk — and about a dozen grandchildren.

Reporter Sandra Chereb contributed to this report. Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-405-9781. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.