One thing that strikes me about the article is how all the cooperation between all the various government agencies  would not have happened [...]]]> The Las Vegas Sun apparently found a staffer still on the payroll to pen a piece about the BLM’s generally favorable position on the proposed Upper Las Vegas Wash national monument. (Sun)

One thing that strikes me about the article is how all the cooperation between all the various government agencies  would not have happened if the development bubble had not burst.

If Park Highlands were half-finished right now and Boyd Gaming was building the casino next to it, and developers were, like Alexander, looking for more worlds to conquer, just how willing would everyone had been to make all that land into an untouchable monument? Somebody was pushing for that Sheepdip Parkway, too, which would have plowed right through the fossils just a few years ago, and they had the County on board.

So, even the nasty dark clouds of the Great Recession have a silver lining or two.

Fun fact:  the domain www.sheepmountainparkway.com is owned by mega-developer Parsons Brinkerhoff. Funny that the copyright of the site is held by the City of Las Vegas, ain’t it?

Hey, they might sell that domain to ya cheap these days.

There will be a meeting of folk interested in the monument later this month:

Where: Aliante Community Center (the left building as you walk up) 7390 Aliante Parkway, just north of Aliante Station Casino.

When: Wednesday February 17th, from 6-8pm

Speakers:

• Gayle Marrs-Smith of the BLM will explain the preferred alternatives and public meeting process
• Kathleen Springer from the San Bernardino Museum will have specific info about the traininig classes for the site steward program
• Lynn Davis of the National Parks Conservation Assc. will talk about our role as we move toward National Monument status
• ? special guest still to be firmed up by next week.