Summerlin provides a piece of the rock

Since April 1999, new Summerlin home buyers have received free one-year family passes to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, which frames the community's western edge.

According to Tom Warden, vice president of community and government relations for The Howard Hughes Corp., developer of Summerlin, the objectives of this program, now in its eighth year, are two-fold.

"Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is one of Southern Nevada's most significant natural treasures," Warden said. "Through this program, we hope to encourage our residents to enjoy the area's magnificent beauty as often as possible. Plus, the program has generated tens of thousands of dollars in annual usage fees for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that manages the conservation area. It's a win-win program for Summerlin residents, for Red Rock and for the BLM."

"As one of Red Rock's neighboring communities, Summerlin is the proud owner of some of the most impressive views in the valley," Warden said. "With the passes, we encourage our residents to personally experience the mountains they look at every day."

According to Mark Rekshynskyj, manager of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area for the Bureau of Land Management, The Howard Hughes Corp. has been a long-term friend of Red Rock.

"This program is just one more way the Hughes organization has demonstrated its environmental consciousness," he said.

In 1987, The Howard Hughes Corp. and the Bureau of Land Management completed an exchange, which provided a buffer zone for what would become Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in 1990.

About 5,000 acres of Hughes-owned land along State Route 159, near where the visitor center now stands, were exchanged for approximately 3,000 acres of BLM land in the Summerlin planning area south of Desert Inn Road and west of the beltway.

The exchange was facilitated by The Nature Conservancy, a national organization that assists private and public entities in complex land transactions, preserving natural landscapes.

According to Rekshynskyj, the land exchange enhanced Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in several ways.

"The pristine quality of the conservation area was assured for future generations by preventing development from being visible from the visitor center or the scenic loop road of Red Rock," Rekshynskyj said. "Consolidation of the boundaries for the conservation area made its management more efficient and cost effective."

Developed by The Howard Hughes Corp., an affiliate of General Growth Properties, Inc., Summerlin began to take shape in 1990. It is a 22,500-acre, master-planned community located along the western rim of the Las Vegas Valley.

Summerlin is home to 100-plus neighborhood and village parks, more than 150 completed miles of the Summerlin Trail System, houses of worship as well as 19 public and private schools.

For more information, visit summerlin.com or call 791-4500.