Haynes elected NAA Secretary

Greg Haynes, a post-doctoral scholar in archaeology with the UNLV Public Lands Institute and the Department of Anthropology & Ethnic Studies, has been appointedSecretary of the Board of Director of the Nevada Archaeological Association. The announcement was made during the association’s annual conference, which was held April 20-22 in Ely, Nevada.

Greg also presented a paper on activities at Lost City at the state conference and to the Society for American Archaeology’s 72nd annual meeting, which was held April 25-29 in Austin, Texas.

Experimental field trips enrich students and the land

Native plants and seeds that would have been destroyed for the sake of new development are instead rescued, now sprouting in an area that once was a landfill. The desert near Goodsprings, Nevada, scorched by a lightning-caused fire in 2005, is showing signs of revegetation as native grasses and shrubs grow with the much-needed assistance of a slow-release irrigation system. These are examples of experimental field trips where students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Mojave Desert are reaping the rewards of restoration.

UNLV’s Public Lands Institute (PLI) works in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) to preserve and conserve various plant species of interests within federal lands in Southern Nevada. Research Assistant Professor Scott Abella oversees the Vegetation Monitoring and Data Management program and conducts a number of vegetation research projects at Lake Mead National Recreational Area and adjacent lands. He also teaches with the UNLV School of Life Sciences. This spring Abella saw an opportunity to integrate PLI activities with a Restoration Ecology course to present a unique experience for UNLV students.

“We conducted several extra credit field trips to do restoration work at Lake Mead and on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in conjunction with the Restoration Ecology course I taught this semester,” said Abella. “Although this is the first time any class like this has been offered at UNLV and it is an experimental course, the enrollment was high with 24 undergraduate and 12 graduate students.”

According to Abella, finding native plant materials, whether seed or seedlings, often is a limiting factor for restoration, particularly for deserts. Abella worked with the private developer of a grassy site in the southwestern Las Vegas Valley to salvage native plants before the site was developed. Students rescued more than 100 plants for restoration and seed production, transported the plants to the Lake Mead nursery facility, and processed them for future projects.

The first stop for the salvaged plants was an old landfill near Lake Mead, where students were involved in a research-oriented experiment to revegetate the site. They planted 216 native plants, including snakeweed and deer grass, to see if the plants can resist invasion of non-native plants, such as red brome and Sahara mustard. “The basic idea is to establish five different native community types, then introduce the exotics that are already present at the site and see which native communities best fend off invasion of the exotics,” explained Abella.

The next assignment took students to Goodsprings, an area severely damaged by fire in 2005, just south of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The focus of this experiment was to learn techniques for establishing native plants on arid lands by assessing the effectiveness of DriWater (slow-release irrigation) and shelters for seven native species on a burn area. Students planted 280 native species plants including wildflowers, deer grass, and California buckwheat. They also installed DriWater and shelters around randomly selected plants.

“The experimental field trips exceeded my expectations because they created a win-win-win situation for UNLV, federal agencies, and the private developer,” said Abella. “UNLV students had a unique opportunity for hands-on learning in the field which assisted PLI in facilitating its research and restoration projects. The federal agencies benefited with the restoration of public lands. And the private developer made a major contribution by allowing us to salvage native plants needed before even starting the projects on public land.”

Abella sees the experimental field trips as providing real solutions to real problems. “Ecological restoration is an increasingly emerging approach to reverse habitat loss and ecosystem decline, while enhancing the services that native ecosystems provide to society.”

Lake Mead Vegetation Manager Alice Newton demonstrates how to wrap plant roots with
moistened paper towels to prepare for transport and replanting.

This old landfill site will be restored with more than 200 different native shrubs, wildflowers, and grass.

Students plant native species and install DriWater and shelters to protect the plants.

This planting is part of the effort to assess the effectiveness of DriWater, a slow-release irrigation system.

Southern Nevada Site Stewardship Program receives national recognition

LAS VEGAS - The Southern Nevada Interagency Cultural Site Stewardship Program has been selected to receive the 2007 Department of Interior Cooperative Conservation Service Award. The award recognizes achievements in the area of cooperative conservation that involve a diverse range of entities undertaking collaborative activities. The entities may include federal, state, local and tribal governments; private for profit and nonprofit institutions; other non-governmental entities; and individuals.

The Interagency Cultural Site Stewardship Program is a volunteer-based program to monitor and protect sensitive cultural sites in Clark County. Currently, 269 volunteers monitor several hundred vulnerable sites, including Gold Butte and Sloan Canyon and Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Areas. The program, which is funded by the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, is a conservation initiative of the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership (SNAP). SNAP is comprised of the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service. It is managed by the Public Lands Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).

“I am very proud of the work this team does and the difference it makes,” said William K. Dickinson, chairman of the SNAP Board and superintendent of Lake Mead National Recreation Area. “The site stewardship team has effectively developed and managed a model program working with volunteers, the four agencies, the state of Nevada, and UNLV.”

“We are honored to have this national recognition for such a worthy program,” said Margaret (Peg) Rees, executive director of the Public Lands Institute and associate vice president for Research and Community Outreach at UNLV. “We thank the dedicated volunteers for their time and passion toward the preservation of Southern Nevada’s cultural resources.”
Representatives of the Interagency Cultural Site Stewardship Program will be among the honorees at the 64th Department Honor Awards Convocation at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 9. The ceremony will be held in the Sidney Yates Auditorium at the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C.

The Public Lands Institute was initiated in 2005 to work in collaboration with federal, state, and non-profit partners to create new knowledge, advance technology, improve education, and engage the community to enhance public lands stewardship. More information about the institute is available at http://publiclands.unlv.edu.

Rare Frogs Aren't Croaking

"Rare Frogs Aren't Croaking," by Keith Rogers, Review-Journal.

UNLV Public Lands Institute recognized for its work protecting nevada rock art

LAS VEGAS - The Nevada Rock Art Foundation has honored the UNLV Public Lands Institute (PLI) for the significant contributions it has made in the protection and appreciation of rock art in Southern Nevada. The foundation presented a plaque to PLI’s George Phillips during its annual meeting held April 28, 2007 in Boulder City, Nevada. Phillips is the project manager for the Interagency Cultural Site Stewardship Program, which PLI administers on behalf of the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service.

The Cultural Site Stewardship Program recruits and trains specialized volunteers to monitor and protect sensitive sites on public lands. Currently, 269 volunteers monitor several hundred vulnerable sites throughout Clark County, including Gold Butte and Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area.

“While this recognition is for the Public Lands Institute, our heartfelt appreciation is extended to the extremely dedicated volunteer site stewards who carry out our mission and that of the Nevada Rock Art Foundation,” said Margaret (Peg) Rees, PLI executive director and associate vice president of Research and Outreach at UNLV. “We thank them for their time and passion toward the preservation of Southern Nevada’s cultural resources.”

The Public Lands Institute was initiated in 2005 to work in collaboration with federal, state, and non-profit partners to create new knowledge, advance technology, improve education, and engage the community to enhance public lands stewardship. More information about the institute is available at http://publiclands.unlv.edu.


Cultural Site Stewardship Project Manager George Phillips holds the plaque presented by the Nevada Rock Art Foundation.