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State Parks and Wildlife Management Areas
The NDOW administers outdoor recreation activities on 11 state Wildlife Management Areas (WMA's). Primary activities are hunting, fishing and wildlife watching. Activities are subject to regulations established by the State Board of Wildlife Commissioners. Natural and artificial lakes, reservoirs, streams, springs, and wetlands are central to ten of the WMA's.
Public use data is limited because most of the WMA's are unmanned. The average annual number of "use days" for Mason Valley WMA is 47,000; for Overton, 5,300; for Kirch, 22,000; and, for Key Pittman WMA, 1,800. Each is popular for fishing, waterfowl and upland game bird hunting, as well as substantial "nonconsumptive" uses. Nonconsumptive activities include wildlife watching, photography, hiking, education, and scientific study (Nevada Division of Wildlife, 2001).
For Nevada's state parks, visitation has grown with development of the park system, but has lagged behind the rate of population growth. The earliest record of visitation occurred in 1960 when 155,887 people reportedly used the parks. By 1971, the annual visitation had grown to 1 million.
The largest and most steady increases occurred during the early to mid-1970's when development of new facilities and the acquisition of new park acreage were at their peak. By 1976, over 2 million visitors were recreating at the state parks annually. Visitation increased 100 percent in only 5 years. However, 19 years passed before visitation exceeded the 3-million threshold, despite rapid population growth.
The fact that state park visitation increases have not kept pace with population growth is probably attributable to the state's failure to increase capacity of park facilities commensurate with population increases. Severe capital improvements budget limitations since the early 1980's have constrained the NDSP's ability to increase facility capacity within the state park system.
Overnight camping, in particular, has seen virtually no growth since the early 1980's. Only two new campgrounds, South Fork State Recreation Area and Cave Lake State Park, with 41 campsites have been completed since that time. Another 14 campsite units at Ward Charcoal Ovens have been partially completed. The entire state park system currently has only 321 improved campsites (i.e., with modern restrooms but no hook-ups) and 805 primitive campsites for a total of 1,126. Of the nine state parks in close proximity to the western and southern Nevada urban population centers, only three provide camping facilities.
The additions of new state park sites or expansions of existing ones have been very limited in the past decade. Only two new park sites and one major addition took place during the 1990's. The three-acre Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort was incorporated into the Nevada State Park System in 1991. Fort Churchill was expanded by several thousand acres in 1994 with the acquisition of adjacent Carson River ranches using the Question 5 Park and Wildlife Bond of 1990.
Finally, the 2,343-acre Big Bend of the Colorado State Recreation Area was acquired from the Colorado River Commission in 1994. Nevertheless, State Parks' visitation has steadily increased over the years, though at a much slower pace than the state's population growth. Without additional investment in the state's park system capital improvement program, the trend is likely to continue.
Table 5-6 presents visitation data for Nevada State Parks for the period 1996 to 2000. Though the overall visitation in 2000 shows an increase of six percent over 1996, visitation at certain parks has actually declined (Nevada Division of State Parks, 2001). Dayton, Washoe Lake, South Fork, Floyd Lamb, and Spring Mountain Ranch State Parks are located close to urbanized areas.
Local residents who tend to resist paying entrance or other user fees traditionally have dominated use of these parks. However, with enhanced enforcement of fee collections and with the collection of fees in locations where none were previously charged, local visitation during recent years has dropped. At the same time, fee revenues have substantially increased.
Other factors come into play for individual parks. The 1996 visitation figures for Cave Lake, for example, are suspect. The visitor counting procedures in 1996 are believed to be faulty. With the institution of revised procedures, the visitation level fell dramatically in 1997. Floyd Lamb State Park suffers from noticeably deteriorated facilities and this is believed to be the main reason for the dramatic decline in use during 2000. Spring Mountain Ranch, on the other hand, has been impacted by the introduction of fee collections by the BLM in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (NCA). Spring Mountain Ranch lies entirely within the NCA, but has been relegated to a secondary destination status. Many visitors first pay an entrance fee at the BLM Visitor Center. Those that do drive to Spring Ranch after touring the 13-mile scenic loop are reluctant to pay a second fee for entrance to the state park. Despite capacity and maintenance shortfalls, visitation at State Parks has steadily increased statewide over the long-term, though at a slower rate than the state's population growth. This difficult set of circumstances is not anticipated to change soon.
Federal Public Land
Recreationists on Nevada BLM and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (HTNF) administered public lands are engaging in a wider variety of activities. Table 5-7 presents visitor day data grouped by type of activity. The HTNF recorded a total of 2,953,000 visitor days in 1996. The Forest contains 85 developed recreation sites within its 5.8 million acres (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 2001). HTNF developed sites have a total capacity of 7,460 persons at one time. Nevada BLM manages about 180 developed recreation sites statewide and 33 designated dispersed recreation use areas. The BLM areas had a total of over 5 million visits or an estimated 4.1 million visitor days in 2000 (Nevada BLM, 2001).
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| Recreational and transportation use of motorized vehicles and watercraft on public land and water bodies is on the rise. OHV, snowmobile, and boat activities constituted 11 percent of total visitor days on BLM administered land in 2000 and 3.5 percent on HTNF administered land in 1996 (excludes OHV transportation use with other activities) (Table 5-7). Relatively little is known about the nature and scale of environmental effects from additional OHV recreation and transportation. Agencies are trying to address related issues, including air and water quality, wildlife, habitat, noxious and invasive weeds, and recreational use conflicts (i.e., motorized vs. non-motorized use). Photos show ATV touring at Valley of Fire S.P.; a busy day at Lahontan S.R.A.; and dune buggies at Berlin-Icthyosaur S.P. Photos courtesy of NDSP
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The combined 7 million visitor days on HTNF and BLM recreation areas indicates that a Nevada's uniquely vast and stark lands present a range of attractions to a diverse set of outdoorsman, as well as presenting an array of opportunities for outdoor recreation-related tourism enterprises. Public recreation lands are widely distributed in the state, and both urban and rural communities stand to gain by growth in outdoor recreation and by enhanced resource conditions. However, the large number of visitors and uses (Table 5-7) indicates that the act of balancing resource protection with growing demands of the recreating public can only become more challenging.
The increasing uses noted in outdoor recreation activity have come with an environmental price. Concern has grown over the proliferation of sport utility vehicles, personal all terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, mountain bikes, personal watercraft, and snowmobiles. These and other motorized and mechanized modes of transportation on land and water opens the door to a new legion of outdoor recreation participants during all seasons. Vehicles are not merely transportation to recreation areas, but have become the recreation themselves. The consequences of irresponsible and unmanaged dispersed recreational vehicle use can be costly resource damage. One type of impact is the expanding spider web of trails, roads, and vehicle tracks, which exacerbate slope and channel erosion, water quality degradation, habitat damage, and wildlife disturbance.
Increased regulation, enforcement, and restrictions may become necessary to deal with these problems on public lands. Trail-rider and off highway vehicle associations have implemented programs in an attempt to raise public awareness about proper use of motorized vehicles in Nevada's wildlands and watersheds.
The increasing uses noted in outdoor recreation activity have come with an environmental price. Concern has grown over the proliferation of sport utility vehicles, personal all terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, mountain bikes, personal watercraft, and snowmobiles. These and other motorized and mechanized modes of transportation on land and water opens the door to a new legion of outdoor recreation participants during all seasons. Vehicles are not merely transportation to recreation areas, but have become the recreation themselves. The consequences of irresponsible and unmanaged dispersed recreational vehicle use can be costly resource damage. One type of impact is the expanding spider web of trails, roads, and vehicle tracks, which exacerbate slope and channel erosion, water quality degradation, habitat damage, and wildlife disturbance. Increased regulation, enforcement, and restrictions may become necessary to deal with these problems on public lands. Trail-rider and off highway vehicle associations have implemented programs in an attempt to raise public awareness about proper use of motorized vehicles in Nevada's wildlands and watersheds.
Other problems are related to the larger numbers of recreationists converging on limited developed resources, resulting in overuse. Some campsites and picnic areas, for example, have become trampled with heavy foot traffic. Soil compaction affects the health of surrounding trees and shrubs. Campers are notorious for hanging lanterns on trees, not realizing that this will cause "lantern scars" where the cambium layer is killed due to the heat. Trails have been constructed through riparian areas, poorly drained areas, or on steep slopes that are very sensitive to even moderate traffic, regardless of whether travel is on foot, horseback, mountain bikes, or motorized vehicles. This problem is difficult to control. Insufficient trail maintenance of problem areas, for example where fallen trees, boulders, or other obstacles are not removed in time, leads to trampling of the area and proliferation of new trail sections.
Lack of sanitary facilities commensurate with the level of use is a widespread problem. While the environment can generally sustain light human usage without the benefit of sanitary facilities, more intensive use can be detrimental to the environment and human health.
The intensity of outdoor recreation on public and private lands will continue to increase as the population of Nevada and surrounding states grow. Both rural and urban communities are advertising nearby outdoor recreation attractions to boost local tourism revenues. Many of the state's most scenic, wildest, and water-associated recreation resources include unique and sensitive habitats and species. Anticipating that the state's special places will receive more visitors, decision makers can take proactive steps to provide the funding and technical assistance that agencies will need for enhanced resource monitoring, research, and management. Everyone benefits by positive actions taken to ensure that outdoor recreation activities are compatible with the sensitivity and carrying capacity of Nevada's most enjoyable and precious natural resources.
References
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. 2001. Personal communication between Nevada Division of State Parks and HTNF outdoor recreation program.
Nevada BLM. 2001. Personal communication between Nevada Division of State Parks and Nevada BLM outdoor recreation program.
Nevada Division of State Parks. 2001. Database of visitor counts at state parks.
Nevada Division of State Parks. 2002. Personal communication. Results of Outdoor Recreation Use Citizens Survey, 2001.
Nevada Division of Wildlife. 2001. Personal communication.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Census Bureau. 1998. 1996 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, Nevada.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Census Bureau. 2002. 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, State Overview, Preliminary Findings.
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