COMMENTARY: Donald Trump should rescind Gold Butte’s national monument designation

On July 9, Camilla Simon and Al Martinez authored a commentary that appeared in the Review-Journal concerning Southern Nevada’s newly minted national monuments, stating that their creation preserves our cultural diversity. Though writing with noble intent, it is evident that these authors have had only limited association with Basin and Range National Monument and Gold Butte National Monument.

Ms. Simon and Mr. Martinez pepper the dialogue with improbable superlatives. Questionable is their claim that “people travel from all over the world” to Basin and Range. Then they state the kinds of wildlife found there. But such wildlife is found virtually all over Nevada — and, assuredly, none of these animals would appear on endangered species lists.

Similarly overstated is the assertion that Gold Butte in eastern Clark County is “beloved by visitors around the country.” It would have been helpful if the pair had cited a source for this claim. Though Ms. Simon and Mr. Martinez state that Gold Butte possesses “part of the Grand Canyon,” this is not so. It pinches out on the Colorado River 18 miles east of the Nevada-Arizona border. Other misconceptions such as these have been passed on by monument zealots who obviously have never set foot on the new monuments.

About 120 miles north of Las Vegas, the Basin and Range National Monument has no permanent BLM patrol to protect three fine petroglyph sites, the Narrows, the Shooting Gallery and the Mt. Irish archaeological site. No signage exists along U.S. Highway 93 and State Route 318 to call attention to the new monument.

Gold Butte boasts of significant rock art panels, but only one can be reached by pavement — Whitney Pockets. Nearby, Falling Man is accessible only by steep trail. To the west is Kohta Circus, where the visitor drives through sand perhaps until he gets stuck before reaching a dazzling panel of rock art. West from there is Sheep Rock, where about 20 nose-to-tail sheep parade across a panel.

South then west of Whitney Pockets is “the Fin” consisting of miniature sandstone formations which can be easily removed, even as spelunkers might enter a newly found cave and bust off a portion of a stalagmite as a souvenir. There, scorpions are guaranteed. Petroglyphs in the Valley of Fire, Death Valley and in northern Arizona are far more satisfying then those in Nevada’s new monuments. Thus protection is not required for Gold Butte.

In addition, Gold Butte has only one county road protruding into it — a twisty, narrow pathway of asphalt, gravel and potholes. Thereafter, all area byways are mostly geared for four-wheelers. Why are Gold Butte’s 300,000 acres of real estate needed to preserve just a few sites of interest?

Creation of the primitive Gold Butte National Monument was also ill-advised because much of the area is already protected as part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Lime Canyon and Jumbo Springs wilderness areas. Gold Butte is situated far from amenities — more than 30 miles from the city conveniences of Mesquite on Interstate 15.

Proponents assert that Gold Butte will attain economic potential and visitation, but few would endure inferior roads when superior petroglyphs are in the much more accessible Valley of Fire, Death Valley and in northern Arizona deserts.

The 1906 Antiquities Act was not intended to allow land grabs and the creation of at-will national monuments. The act was initially established to protect sites such as Colorado’s Mesa Verde, where scavengers were stealing pots and tools and selling them on the black market. Ironically, in possessing the new status, Gold Butte’s petroglyphs are now more than ever subject to defacement because of the lack of BLM patrol.

Gold Butte’s sweeping desert vistas and spectacular rock formations, though eye appealing, are no match for the nearby sandstone wonders in the Valley of Fire and those in central Nevada. Thus, it is superfluous.

President Trump should rescind Gold Butte’s monument designation because the federal budget has scant funding to hire adequate rangers to safeguard ill-prepared desert venturers who might lack enough water, food and clothing in case of a vehicle breakdown or stuck in sand. Temperatures from May to September often rise perilously to 110 to 115 degrees.

Waiting it out in a stalled vehicle is no place to recall the hype of pro-monument partisans who believe that the area is casual visitor-friendly. It is far from it.

Stanley W. Paher is the author of a Nevada atlas with 2,200 desert destinations and is also a field researcher for Benchmark Maps. He writes from Reno.