Volunteer protectors keep watch over Tule Springs Fossil Beds

Sandy Croteau, one of five founders of Protectors of Tule Springs (POTS), recalls her excitement when the federal government declared Tule Springs Fossil Beds Nevada’s first national monument, in December 2014.

“Five old ladies got a bill through the United States Congress and Senate, and signed by President Obama as a law,” the Sun City Aliante resident said, referring Sandra Valley, Kathryn Brandi, Lilly Ann Rothstein, Jill DeStefano and herself.

She and her partners founded POTS in 2006 after attending a homeowners association meeting to learn about the monument, which developers were interested in building homes on. The women spent several years trying to inform people about the importance of the 22,650-acre monument, home to the remains of ice age animals such as the Columbian mammoth, camel and North American lion. Soon after the area was declared a monument, Clark County gave POTS a $20,000 grant, which the group used to make brochures, magnets and other advertising items, and to host presentations and classes, Croteau said. The founders said educating children is also part of their mission.

Now they are working to get assistance from residents to preserve the monument with their “I Am a Protector” program, which they started about one year ago, Croteau said. The program is similar to a neighborhood watch, in which volunteers report if they see someone damaging the land, POTS founding member Jill DeStefano said. They look out for people who go target shooting, ride off-road vehicles, dump garbage or construction materials, or attempt to remove or damage fossil beds.

“I think the shooting and some of the dumping is because of unawareness,” she said. “I can’t imagine that people would shoot into an area where people are hiking.”

During a recent presentation at the Horses4Heroes summer camp, a boy no older than 10 asked what he should do if he sees a fossil.

“If you take away one of the pieces of the puzzle, what happens?” a National Park Service ranger, James Grof, asked a group of children.

“You can’t finish the puzzle,” they replied.

POTS holds training sessions for those interested in joining the volunteer program. It has held four meetings and has about 170 volunteers, Croteau said. Their next meeting is set for Oct. 24 at the Sun City Aliante clubhouse.

During the training, Croteau said, the group tells people to simply report issues and take notes or photos, and to not intrude.

“(We are) just the eyes and the ears,” she said.

It is important for residents to assist with protecting the monument because the National Park Service does not have the budget to do so, DeStefano said. There are no facilities, trail heads or a visitor center at the monument. There also are not enough law enforcement rangers to oversee the area, she added. There is one interpretative ranger, who gives presentations and assists with events, and an acting superintendent from the National Park Service for the monument. The ranger position is temporary, while acting superintendent Curt Deuser said his term will be up this fall.

In December, there were talks of the development of a trail to allow hikers to access the monument, but it’s in the early planning stages, Deuser said.

The National Park Service doesn’t provide formal public tours for Tule Springs Fossil Beds; it coordinates tours with POTS, he said. Croteau went through training with the Park Service to be certified to guide tours and hikes. At the moment, the monument is “really for independent adventurists competent of outdoors” due to the lack of guidance, Deuser said.

Contact Kailyn Brown at kbrown@viewnews.com or 702-387-5233. Follow @kailynhype on Twitter.