NWP is thrilled to announce the hiring and arrival of our new Southern Nevada Outreach Director, Nick Do-bric!!! He’s young, handsome, and ready to seize the

unique opportunity that only a life in the Mojave can offer. Nick comes to Nevada from the frozen lakes of the upper Mid-west where he was raised out-side of Chicago and later edu-cated at Northland College in Wisconsin. During his formative years Nick made many journeys to the Great Lakes and Bound-ary Water regions honing out-door skills and fostering his love for wild places.

Nick became very active in both environmental efforts on campus as the founder of Greenfire’s chapter at Northland and in Wisconsin through the Habitat Education Center, where he focused on timber sales and wilderness inventory.

Recently, he worked for the Public Interest Re-search Group in Greely, Colorado as their cam-pus organizer for Get Out the Vote, where he continued to develop the skill set necessary to work with a broad array of volunteers, interests, and abilities.

Nick has expressed some doubts about mov-ing to the Mojave. He loves the snow, or-ganic foods, bike com-muting, and contra dancing. We’ve assured

him that in Las Vegas and the deserts of Southern Nevada anything can happen.

The Project is excited for Nick to begin parlaying his skills and enthusiasm for wilderness and volunteers onto the ground in Southern Nevada. Please con-tinue to check our website, www.wildnevada.org, for upcoming events and wilderness values trips in Southern Nevada.

Thank You to all the members that sent in com-ments for the Transportation Plan in the Gold Butte area. We had well over 100 responses. Great Job! The Nevada Wilderness Projects’ comments identi-fied over 40 specific routes that do not meet the bio-logical and cultural goals of this plan. Staff will con-tinue to monitor the progress of the final as-sessment and keep you informed. Continued on pg. 6

Nick Dobric, Gold Butte Update - pg. 1 Volunteer Spotlight and Director’s Corner - pg. 2 Petersen Mountain Information- pg. 3 Map of Petersen Mountain- pg. 4 & 5 Gold Butte Update, Director’s Corner Continued - pg. 6 Development News, Runners Wanted, Fieldwork-ers Needed - pg. 7 WILD Calendar - pg. 8

Nevada Wilderness Project

New Faces and New Places

In this Issue:

Spring 2007

Nick displaying his dancing skills with the ladies at a recent Wilderness Conference. Photo by Roxanne Sterr

Meet Nick Dobric

Gold Butte Update

NWP Board of Directors

Bret Birdsong, President

Brian O’Donnell, Vice President

Lynn Schiek, Secretary

Chris Todd

Tori King

NWP Staff John Wallin

Director

Kristie Connolly Associate Director

Nancy Beecher Conservation Director

Mackenzie Banta Development Director

Cameron Johnson Northern Nevada Outreach Director

Nick Dobric Southern Nevada Outreach Director

Cynthia Scholl Membership Coordinator

Nancy Hall Gold Butte Organizer

Coalition Partners Campaign for America’s Wilderness

Friends of Nevada Wilderness

Red Rock Audubon Society

The Wilderness Society

Page 2 www.wildnevada.org Spring 2007

Nevada Wilderness Project

Northern Office 8550 White Fir Street

Reno, NV 89523 775.746.7850

Southern Office 4220 S. Maryland Pkwy

Suite 402D Las Vegas, NV 89119

702.369.1871

www.wildnevada.org A 501 (c) (3) non-profit

corporation

NWP Mission Statement:

The Nevada Wilderness Project is committed to

saving spectacular, rug-ged-and imperiled-public

lands in Nevada as Wilderness, the strongest

protection possible.

Volunteer Spotlight: The Day Family

Spring is a time of renewal, and so it is with our varied pro-gram work throughout the state. Things going on north, south, east and west in this issue…

In southern Nevada, Nick Dobric joins the Project as our new Southern Nevada Outreach Director, and we’re excited for the intelligence and passion he brings to our team. Nancy Hall checks in with goings on in metropolitan and suburban Mesquite, and we launch the field season (in which we hope to inventory about a million acres) with a call out for those festive souls who

enjoy bouncing around in a hot, dusty pickup truck 10 hours a day as much as we do.

In northern Nevada, Cameron Johnson reports on an outing to Peterson Mountain, a small but important wild jewel in southern Washoe County. Conservation Direc-tor Nancy Beecher writes about the Petersen Natural Area, and the Lassen-Washoe mule deer herd that winters there. Mackenzie Banta launches another round of women-only trips (stay tuned for more of those in southern Nevada!) And we highlight the work of Reno’s Day family, whose contributions to our work in-clude being available at all hours for computer consulting, working on fundraising projects, and even going so far as giving birth to a young man (Calvin River Day) who is but a few years away from stuffing envelopes!

You’ll notice that in this issue, we’re trying something new: including usable map centerfolds of areas we’re working to protect. This month, we’ve included one of the Peterson Natural Area, highlighted in this issue in our work in Washoe County. We’d like to know what you think—are these helpful, useful, fun, a waste. Please take a moment to give us some feedback if there are maps of areas you’d like to see. Send us an e-mail at info@wildnevada.org We spend a fair amount of ink on Petersen Mountain in this issue because it’s one of the places we’ll try to protect in southern Washoe County. Starting in April and con-tinuing for the next eight months, I’ll be participating in Washoe County’s Open Space and Natural Resource Management Plan Update... continued on page 6

Director’s Corner

This spring we want to take a moment and thank Jane and Kevin Day for all their hard work and support over the years. The Days do a little bit of everything for us, and they do it all exceptionally well. Kevin is local tech guru who keeps our internal servers and networks up and running, while also ensuring that John and Cameron never fully destroy their laptops. Jane is the artist of the family and largely responsible for the 12 tasteful images collec-tively called “The Wild Men of Wild Nevada Calendar.”

When asked why they choose to support NWP with their time and resources, Kevin writes, “NWP brings together a diverse and motivated group of people to change our state in a positive way by protecting some of our most pristine areas. We enjoy contributing our time to NWP because of the people that we get to work with, and our donations go toward real progress in the protection of our Wilder-ness areas.” Their new son Calvin is a bit to young to be active yet, but as you read further you’ll notice that John already has big plans for the little guy! Thanks Jane and Kevin for your hard work and continued dedication!

Petersen Mountain - Washoe County

Petersen Mountain is home to the Lassen-Washoe Mule Deer herd. While the Lassen-Washoe population sum-mers and breeds in the northern Sierras of California, the deer migrate specifically to Petersen to spend the winter

months. With ears that constantly and independently move about (hence the name), and a bounding leap with all of their feet landing at once (called stotting), they are amusing to be-hold. Mule Deer are also the primary big game species in Ne-vada, and hold value to hunters around the state. The Mule Deer Foundation has been working to rehabilitate the Petersen Mountain winter range, protecting riparian areas (areas with water and water-loving vegetation) and laying seeds to fulfill Mule Deer needs.

In 1984 the “Petersen Mountain Natural Area” was set aside by the BLM to help the Las-

sen-Washoe Mule Deer herd maintain their numbers. Closing over 5,000 acres of land to motorized vehicles, the Natural Area has helped keep habitat damage at bay, providing a beautiful area full of wildflowers and wildlife. Because a BLM-appointed Natural Area is an administrative and not a legal designation, however, there is no guarantee that the area will remain pro-tected in the future. Given that Petersen Mountain and the Las-sen-Washoe Mule Deer winter range are just 15 miles from the northwestern edge of the Reno area, foresighted conservation planning is critical.

Last spring the Nevada Wilderness Coalition began a Wilderness inventory of Petersen Mountain. Amidst wildflowers such as mule’s ear, lupine and Indian paintbrush, we found the landscape to be enchanting. This year we plan to finish our inventory, ultimately combining our ground-truthing data with other wildlife information. Harnessed with this information and a conservation vision, we plan to contribute to Washoe County’s Open Space and Natural Resource Plan, and of course create a Wilderness Pro-

posal.

Page 3 www.wildnevada.org Spring 2007

On March 17th Kurt Kuznicki and Cameron Johnson lead a Wilderness Values Trip to Pe-tersen Mountain. To read their trip report and see more photos from this area please

visit our website at - www.wildnevada.org/news/wilderness-value-

trips/petersen-mountain-day-hike.html

Directions from Reno - From 395 N to Red Rock Blvd Exit, DeLorme Nevada Gazetteer p.34 H-1

Petersen Mountain Vitals: Petersen Mountain is approximately 12 miles long, 3-4 miles wide and rises steeply from the valley floor on all sides. It is granitic in nature and is cut by the steep twisting side canyons on the east and west sides of the mountain. On top of the mountain is a small narrow valley (Summit Valley) which is only visible when a visitor reaches the top and is about 3.5 miles long and an average of 1/4 to 1/2 mile wide. The valley is broken into short segments by intervening hills. The base of the mountain averages 6200 ft on the eastern flank, 5400 ft on the west, and rises to 7850 ft at the summit. Summit Valley is found at 7400 to 7600 ft.

Petersen Mountain Directions and Vitals:

Page 6 www.wildnevada.org Spring 2007

What next? As proprietors of Gold Butte, we must take an active role in stewardship of the land. This “stewardship” can be accomplished through differ-ent activities from picking up litter to letter writing. Indeed, letter writing is very important. The con-gressional delegation and land managers should be aware of the wonderful resources we enjoy, and problems facing the area.

Friends of Gold Butte, an organization seeking Na-tional Conservation Area (NCA) legislation designa-tion, conducts a meeting with a presentation and a service trip each month. For our Southern Ne-vada members, this is a great way to become informed about the Gold Butte area. Meetings are held the third Tuesday of each month at 7pm at the Oasis Convention Center in Mesquite, NV. Service trips range from “ pullin’ weeds to fixin’ fences”; all are welcome to join. For more information, please contract Nancy - nancy.hall@wildnevada.org

The Cultural Site Steward Program, a group of trained volunteers that monitor historic and prehistoric sites, records damage to these irreplaceable resources. Of the more than 250 stewards throughout the 7 million acres in Clark County, over 56% of all archaeological impacts in 2006 occurred in Gold Butte. Impacts in-cluding but not limited to: digging and potting, graffiti on petroglyphs, barriers destroyed for OHV intrusions, extensive damage to the biotic soil, and heavy visi-tation resulting in trampled midden piles, excessive trash and human waste.

In two years off-road traffic has more than tripled and is reflected in the March 31, 2007 New York Times Op-Ed article by Richard Moe:

“Similarly, affected by these vehicles is Gold Butte, near Las Vegas. A recent study by volunteers monitor-ing vandalism at Gold Butte showed a 366% increase in major damage to cultural sites in the area from 2004-2005, including numerous incidents of graffiti and bullet holes in petroglyph panels. The same old story is too familiar elsewhere.”

For information on the Statewide Cultural Site Steward Program: http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/shpo/SiteStewardHomepage.htm To visit Gold Butte contact nancy.hall@wildnevada.org or call 702 277 3337.

as a member of their science review team. This plan, which addresses the county’s role in open space and natural resource management, has not been updated since 1994. With the growth in our region, this is an opportunity to ensure that the scenic, wildlife, and habitat values that so richly define life in Washoe County are adequately protected. We’ll be posting information on our website soon about this effort and some of the critical areas facing threats—and ways we can use this planning process to ensure that wilderness and our natural re-sources don’t get lost to rampant growth.

In the meantime, you can participate in monthly public workshops that will be held throughout the next eight months. You can make a big difference by attending one of these meetings and sharing your vision for a wild Washoe County. For more information, go to: http://www.washoecounty.us/comdev/publications_maps_products/open_space/open_space_index.htm

Gold Butte Update Continued...

Director’s Corner Continued...

Wild Women in Wilderness

Page 7 www.wildnevada.org Spring 2007

As spring is gracing us once more with her presence, the Nevada Wilderness Project is gearing up for another great season of exploring the land. Back by popular demand, Mackenzie Banta will be gallivanting around the state leading women’s hikes to wild places. If you are a female and interested in joining her, please give Mackenzie a jingle at 775-746-7851 or feel free to check our website for current events: www.wildnevada.org

Plus, stay tuned for the 2008 Wild Men of Wild Nevada sneak preview calendar shot! That’s right; our 2007 wild men are enjoyed by many this year and we are back out in the land taking new photos for 2008! If you are interested in catch-ing a glimpse of next year’s calendar, please email us at wildmen@wildnevada.org – we promise these lads won’t disappoint you!

The Nevada Wilderness Project is once again running for wilderness this summer! We are going to be running in the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey to raise money for wild places. If you are interested in supporting our work and running with 11 other wild runners around the Reno-Tahoe area on June 29-30th, please contact Mackenzie Banta at 775-746-7851 or info@wildnevada.org

Fieldworkers needed!

NWP is on the look-out for dependable and brave temporary field workers to do ground-truthing inventories. Using GPS units, cameras and maps, our field workers get out into the wilds and document what they see -- roads that aren’t on the map and mapped roads that aren’t on the ground, other human impacts, biological and archaeological observa-tions, and any other item of interest that might play a role in our final proposals to Congress. The work can be tedious and the terrain treacherous, but the experience in Ne-

vada’s wilderness is worth it. By doing inventories, field workers enable us to visualize the landscape and assess Wilderness-quality lands, and the contribution is certainly precious.

Work any time May-October for 1.5 to 3 weeks at a time, with single or multiple outings possible. Field workers must be self-reliant, able to handle rough, solitary field conditions, and use their own vehi-cle (4WD with truly high clearance to navigate difficult rocky roads is a must). Field workers can work solo or in pairs, and are reimbursed a weekly wage + gas. If you are interested, please read more about our in-ventory process at www.wildnevada.org (Mapping/Stories, Field Reports, and From the Field links), and contact Nancy Beecher at 702-369-1871/nancy.beecher@wildnevada.org.

Running for Nevada's Wild Places

Wild Men of Wild Nevada 2008

HELP US PROTECT YOUR WILDERNESS

Join NWP staff and volunteers on trips to potential wilderness areas! You can see beautiful places and help protect them at the same time by writing letters and plugging in to our ef-

forts in a way that’s interesting and fun. All outings are weather permitting. Please log on to www.wildnevada.org for more information.

NEVADA WILDERNESS CALENDAR WILDERNESS VALUES TRIPS & EVENTS

It’s easy to help… Cut out this form and mail it to: NV Wilderness Project, 8550 White Fir St; Reno, NV 89523

Enclosed is my donation of: I would like to make a recurring donation:

Monthly

Every 3 months

Annually

$35.00

$50.00

$100.00

$250.00

$500.00

Other Amount: ____________

Comments:

Name Phone Number

Address

Email address

City State Zip

Please include check or money order payable to: Nevada Wilderness Project.

For secure credit card transactions, please visit

http://www.wildnevada.org

Please join us for our monthly volunteer night at

Reno’s Great Basin Brewery

(www.greatbasinbrewingco.com)

May 15th, 6-8pm

June 19th, 6-8pm

July 17th, 6-8pm

Northern Nevada Events April 26 - Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Nevada release, Sundance Bookstore, 6:30pm April 27 - NWP 8th Anniversary Art Show Opening, Patagonia Building, 6-9pm

May 8 - Birds Love Wilderness hike to Incandescent Rocks, Washoe Co. at 4:00 pm

May 19 - Women’s WVT to Incandescent Rocks, Washoe Co. at 3:00 pm

May 20 - Birding Hike to Bald Mountain, Lyon Co.

May 25-27 - Toiyabe Range Backpack, Nye Co

June 9 - Women’s WVT to the Buffalo Hills, Washoe Co.

June 10 - Birding in our backyard via Hunter Creek Trail to the Mt. Rose Wilderness

Southern Nevada Events May 19 - The Cultural History Fair, Mesquite. NWP will have a booth jointly with the Friends of Gold Butte. Volunteers Needed! June 2 - National Trails Day. Join Nancy Hall for a “History Hike” in Gold Butte. Please check our website to see what trips Nick Dobric will be offering in South-ern Nevada once he gets settled.

Photo © Kristie Connolly

Cover Photo by Howard Booth

Printed on recycled paper