Page 9 - winter 2016 the rock

8 Friends oF red rock canyon Friends oF red rock canyon 9

his place needs and deserves permanent protection...”
Friends Protect... Gold Butte By Jaina Moan “T
To protect Gold Butte, we educate and advo- are considering an alternative protection solution.
President Obama’s designation of Nevada’s Basin
cate for conservation of its natural and cultural
across a desert tortoise as it emerges from its treasures. In order to educate our members and Range National Monument in July offers hope

you are standing in
Imagine a vast undeveloped burrow. Your movements will be tracked by the about Gold Butte’s spectacular resources, we for a Gold Butte National Monument proclamation.
Mojave Desert landscape. You are surrounded watchful eyes of a bighorn sheep from a high host a monthly speaker series in Henderson
by tall purple mountains. In front of you, large ridge on the horizon. and Mesquite. In addition, Friends appeals to Gold Butte is a special place. Whether it becomes
our elected leaders to protect Gold Butte. In a National Conservation Area or a National Monu-
This is Gold Butte. Adventure, exploration January 2015, Senator Harry Reid introduced ment, this place needs and deserves permanent
and discovery await in this far-flung corner of Senate Bill 199 to establish Gold Butte as a Na- protection. Gold Butte is a valuable treasure for our
southeastern Nevada. Encompassing 350,000 tional Conservation Area with Wilderness; and society. We want to ensure that current and future
acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in February 2015, Representative Dina Titus in- generations can enjoy and explore Nevada’s piece
managed land, Gold Butte is a big and diverse troduced companion legislation, House Resolu- of the Grand Canyon.
Photo by David Bly Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Getting there: Traveling North on Interstate 15 take
tion 856. Previous legislative efforts have been
landscape tucked in between the borders of the

in the east and the Lake Mead National Recre-
Exit 112 (Riverside/Bunkerville) and go south for

Whitney Pockets ation Area in the south and west. 3 miles. Cross the bridge over the Virgin River and
Here the Friends of Gold Butte work to protect, turn west on the first road past the bridge, Gold Butte
outcroppings of red and orange sandstone restore and explore this amazing place. Since Friends of Gold Butte Archives Road. The Gold Butte Road is roughly paved for 14
emerge from the desert floor—bright ships miles. A high clearance vehicle is recommended.
anchored in a sea of Joshua tree and Mojave
Volunteers dedicated to the preservation of Red Rock Canyon
yucca. Traveling across this land, you see the More information about
geologic relics of past worlds, from Precam- Friends of Gold Butte’s
brian granite found in the Jumbo Springs Wil- Guided hike to the Falling Man site advocacy and stewardship
derness Area to Cambrian carbonate rocks on made, but the recent bills represent compro- efforts can be found on
Lime Ridge. Jurassic Aztec sandstone pockets mises for different user groups of the land. For our website at www.friendsofgoldbutte.org
surface in the heart of the landscape and here Photo by Kurt Kuznicki example, in the current legislation, over 500
you discover mysterious, ancient petroglyphs miles of roads in Gold Butte will remain open Jaina Moan is the Executive Director
etched into desert varnish, a record of human and wilderness boundaries have been redrawn for the Friends of Gold Butte, a 501(c)
(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to
journeys long ago. to ensure access to wildlife guzzlers. Despite achieving permanent protection for Gold
Hobgoblins Playground these considerations, the bills have not received Butte’s natural and cultural resources.

Along the roadsides, you 2003, we have led interpretive hikes through hearings in their respective committees and we She loves to explore wild, remote deserts
An Arrastra (or Arastra) is a on foot.
primitive mill for grinding and find time-worn corrals and places like the Falling Man petroglyph site and
pulverizing gold or silver ore. stone arrastras, evidence Hobgoblin’s Playground. We have worked
The simplest form of the of historical ranching and
arrastra is two or more flat- with the BLM on restoration projects—col-
bottomed drag stones placed mining efforts that continue lecting and planting native seed and assisting
in a circular pit paved with the story of human experi- with efforts to install post and cable parking at
flat stones and connected to a ence with this land. If you
center post by a long arm. popular hiking sites.
are lucky, you may come

the Rock - Volume 6 Issue 2 Winter 2016