Background

Harris Springs is an approximately 4,629-acre area within the larger Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (RRCNCA) west of Las Vegas, Nevada. Harris Springs is a vital watershed that flows to the northwest portion of the Las Vegas Valley, connecting to the Springs Mountain National Recreation Area, Mt. Charleston area, and La Madre Foothills area. The Bureau of Land Management Red Rock/Sloan Field Office (BLM) manages the area under the RRCNCA Resource Management Plan (RMP).

The 2013 Carpenter 1 Fire and heavy post-fire flooding damaged the area, resulting in 5-year closure to protect public health and safety and post-fire recovery. Trespassing and illegal motor vehicle use occurred during the closure. The area now contains many unauthorized dirt roads and trails that receive regular use by motor vehicles, off-highway vehicles (OHVs), and motorized dirt bikes. Current recreational uses also include backcountry hiking; however, increased recreation use is anticipated and is likely to also include mountain biking and equestrian use in addition to hiking.

The RRCNCA is one of Southern Nevada’s most popular outdoor recreation destinations. Over the past 20 years, visitation to the RRCNCA has increased rapidly, largely because of the expanding urban population in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. In 2019, 3.5 million people visited the RRCNCA, a 250 percent increase since 2003. The BLM expects visitation will continue increasing as the surrounding urban population and demand for outdoor recreation grows.

Project description

In response to the need for comprehensive, coordinated management and a long-term vision for the Harris Springs Recreation Area, the BLM prepared a Draft Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP) and associated Environmental Assessment (EA) per the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The RAMP will better enable the BLM to identify the appropriate recreation access in Harris Springs to accommodate anticipated future recreation demand while minimizing potential user conflicts and resource impacts. The RAMP will also allow the BLM to establish a plan for restoring disturbed areas, including unauthorized routes and trails. This will provide for improved recreation and travel management of Harris Springs routes.

The BLM’s Draft RAMP/EA addresses topics such as:

• Protect natural and cultural resources.

• Where and when certain routes may remain open or be appropriate for closure.

• Where to designate open roads for motorized or non-motorized use.

• Identify restoration strategies to restore disturbed areas.

• Long-term restoration actions that will improve post-fire ecological recovery of soils and vegetation communities.

• Potential need for new recreation infrastructure and amenities, such as parking, signage, restrooms, and picnic area facilities, and how to fund those improvements.

• Improve visitor public safety and access to a popular dispersed recreation area.

• Manage recreation in a manner that avoids impacts on sensitive biological, cultural, hydrologic, and paleontological resources in the area.

• Reduce post-fire impacts to sensitive and endangered species as well as downstream rural and urban private communities and infrastructure in the Las Vegas Metropolitan area.

• Accommodate recreational demand consistent with the laws and regulations governing the RRCNCA and La Madre Mountain Wilderness.