Planning and Development of a Desert Wetland Park in the United States - Restorative Redevelopment of Devastated Ecocultural Landscapes - page 208

CLARK COUNTY WETLANDS PARK: THE PLACE
Only eight miles beyond the twenty-four-hour lights of the Las Vegas Strip, the Las
Vegas Wash has been an often overlooked treasure—so much so, in fact, that it was
almost destroyed by the years of development expansion in southern Nevada (chapter
8). People have been part of this land for a thousand years, with several native Indian
groups occupying the area, even simultaneously at times. The Las Vegas springs
quickly developed into a stop along the Spanish trail and later became a place for
early Mormon settlement.
The city of Las Vegas has always been an influence on regional water quality and
water use activities (France 1999). This is particularly the case at the present time
given that protection of the unique wash environment involves wastewater treatment,
water rights, return flow credits, and salinity control to the Colorado River (France
2011). And as urban development continues in the valley, the natural resource values
of the Las Vegas Wash also continue to increase.
Until recently, the timeline here was really a story of key decisions and delayed
action, the consequence of which was that in 1984 there was a significant storm
event that resulted in severe erosion (chapter 8). At the same time the Wash
became the city's dumping ground as well as a location for illegal target practice
and a camping location for vagrants. But there is another timeline which high-
lights the decades of advocacy (Zimmerman 2004) such as the Wash Development
Committee's formation in 1973, the Wash environmental assessment conducted in
1981, leading to the first Clark County Wetlands Park Master Plan in 1982, com-
prehensive and integrated planning activities in 1987, formation of the Wash Task
Force in 1988, initiation of the Wash erosion mitigation project in 1989, voting by
Nevada residents to approve a $13.3 million bond for Wash restoration activities in
1992, generation of a new master plan in 1995, followed by a programmatic envi-
ronmental impact statement for the planned park in 1996, formation of the Wash
Coordination Committee in 1998, and finally construction of the Nature Preserve
beginning in 2000.
An important key to the success of the Las Vegas Wash-Clark County Wetlands
Park story has been the ability to change the public's perception of the place from
being one of fear and loathing to an acceptance by all that it was actually a commu-
nity asset (France 1999; Zimmerman 2004). For example, in the early years of trans-
formation, up to twenty tons of trash were collected from this site and shipped off in
big trailers. Protective fencing was erected around key places, and security patrols
put into effect. And the fines for illegal dumping were increased and enforced.
INTEGRATING PEOPLE, PLANNING, AND DESIGN
Project success is predicated upon developing a set of clearly stated goals in which
to direct the mission of the master plan (France 2006). In this case, the goals were
focused on balancing public access and environmental sensitivity, creating a com-
munity sense of pride and ownership, developing a critical educational venue,
and conserving and restoring a degraded landscape. The integrated planning and
design process for the Las Vegas Wash needed to be comprehensive, congruent, and