Page 18 - 2001 DT 4 issues

Live and Learn ○ ○ unique landscape in northwest Nevada ○ ○ If you plan to visit, you’ll pass through
will be protected as the Black Rock ○ ○ Empire and its gas station where “Wel-
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ecently the New York Times re- ○ ○ Desert-High Rock Canyon National Con- ○ ○ come to Nowhere” greets visitors over the
ported that a study of wilderness ○ ○ servation Area (NCA). The BLM’s ○ ○ pumps. Then you’ll pass through Gerlach,
Rdeaths in Pima County, Ariz. sug- ○ ○ Winnemucca, Nev. and Cedarville, Calif. ○ ○ “. . .where the pavement ends and the real
gested that rather than beefing up rescue ○ ○ field offices will manage the new NCA. ○ ○ West begins.” Bring lots of food and wa-
services, officials should spend more time ○ ○ Characteristically flat, playas are bar- ○ ○ ter, a first aid kit, a shovel and at least
teaching local residents not to drink when ○ ○ ren basins that occasionally fill with ○ ○ two spare tires. The Black Rock Desert
visiting remote cliffs and canyons. ○ ○ shallow water during the rainy season en- ○ ○ isn’t for the timid.
The study, published in the Annals of ○ ○ trapping vehicles in a thick, slippery ○ ○
Emergency Medicine, concluded that two ○ ○ quagmire. Nothing grows on the Black ○ ○ Black Rock Dedication
percent of fatalities studied could have ○ ○ Rock Playa itself. But the wind-sculpted ○ ○ by Pat Williams
been prevented if the victim had been ○ formations, sand dunes, clay-silt mounds, ○
evacuated more quickly. ○ ○ lakeshore terraces, foothills and moun- ○ ○ une 30th was a special day for the
However, researchers from the Uni- ○ ○ tains in and around it comprise a pristine ○ ○ people who believe in the conserva-
versity of Arizona in Tucson learned that ○ ○ wilderness. ○ ○ Jtion and protection of our land.
50 of the 100 victims tested positive for ○ ○ This is Great Basin country, of steep ○ ○ It was the official dedication for Nevada’s
alcohol and 12 for drugs. They estimated ○ ○ angular mountains with few trees. Sage- ○ ○ second National Conservation Area:
that alcohol was a probable cause in 40 ○ ○ brush and greasewood grow along the ○ ○ Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon
percent of deaths from accidents—which ○ ○ lower slopes. Salt-tolerant shrubs grow ○ ○ Emigrant Trails National Conservation
included heat stroke, falls and drowning— ○ ○ in playa marginal areas. Resident and ○ ○ Area (NCA). Friends of Red Rock
including 21 deaths at Tanque Verde Falls, ○ ○ migrant waterfowl and shore birds feed ○ ○ Canyon helped sponsor the event.
an area of cliffs and waterfalls subject to ○ ○ at its many small shallow lakes. Mule ○ ○ Black Rock Desert isn’t a place you’d
flash floods. They also noted that only ○ ○ deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, ○ ○ just happen to run across. The closest
three percent of the dead were from out ○ ○ mountain lions, bobcats and many small ○ ○ “town” is Gerlach, about 100 miles north-
of state. Tourists tended to seek less dan- ○ ○ mammals, lizards, snakes, amphibians, ○ ○ east of Reno. The dedication ceremony
gerous trails to hike. ○ ○ and numerous bird species make their ○ ○ took place on the Playa, a dry lakebed
home here. Free-roaming horses and bur- ○ ○ about 15 miles wide and over 25 miles
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Black Rock Desert ○ ○ ros inhabit the surrounding rangeland. ○ ○ long.
Prehistoric occupation of the area ○ ○ Arriving at the dedication ceremony,
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world land speed record of 763 ○ ○ dates back 10,000 to 12,000 years. It was ○ ○ we noticed a low-flying circling airplane
mph, or Mach 1.02, was set here ○ ○ first explored by Captain John C. Fremont ○ ○ pulling a banner we could not read. Then
Ain 1997 by a British jet engine car. ○ ○ in 1843. The Applegate-Lassen Trail, ○ ○ we saw a banner-covered bus in the park-
The Burning Man Festival ○ ○ which cuts through High Rock Canyon, ○ ○ ing area. We thought, “How nice, the
celebrates its annual cultural ○ ○ ○ ○ local residents are welcoming all the
experiment here. The 160,000 ○ ○ ○ ○ dedication participants and guests.” Not
acre Black Rock Desert ○ ○ ○ ○ exactly. All the banners and wearing
Playa—the ancient bed of ○ ○ ○ ○ apparel of half the gathered guests had
Lake Lahontan—represents ○ ○ ○ ○ messages that indicated they were not
the largest dry lake in North ○ ○ ○ ○ happy with the Act of Congress that cre-
America. Imagine how it might ○ ○ ○ ○ ated the new NCA.
have looked 60,000 years ago, ○ ○ ○ ○ Robert Abbey, State Director of the
covered by 500 feet of water. ○ ○ Bureau of Land Management, welcomed
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The playa, the area hot everyone and spoke of the need to include
springs— many ranging from 120 to 180 Vehicle tracks, Black Rock Desert Playa all views in the NCA administrative
degrees Fahrenheit—378,600 acres of planning sessions. Robyn Burdette, Chair-
wilderness and the Applegate-Lassen was used from 1846 to 1850 by gold seek- woman of the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe,
Emigrant National Historic Trail, together ers en route to California and homestead- presented a very moving invocation.
contain about 795,000 acres. Now this ers headed for Oregon. Robyn spoke of the need to honor and

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