By Phoebe Sweet

Fri, Nov 23, 2007 (7:14 a.m.)

Lovers of Nevada's great outdoors this month celebrated the fifth anniversary of passage of a bill that protected almost half a million acres of public wilderness in Clark County.

In November 2002, Congress passed legislation that protected sensitive areas of the Mojave Desert from threats such as motorized vehicles, vandalism and urban sprawl. The bill, championed by Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign, increased the amount of protected land in Nevada by 1,000 percent.

But activists say the anniversary shouldn't be an opportunity to relax efforts but rather to increase motivation to protect wilderness left out of the 2002 bill.

Conservationists were thrilled to see stunning desert features such as the century-old Joshua trees in Wee Thump, outside Searchlight, under protection, said John Wallin, director of the Nevada Wilderness Project. The nonprofit conservation group inventoried the state's wilderness and lobbied in support of the 2002 bill and another in 2004 that protected more than 750,000 acres in Lincoln County. Also protected in 2002 were Sloan Canyon, the Muddy Mountains and parts of the Red Rock National Conservation Area.

"But the rate of growth is really accelerating in Nevada and we're running out of time to protect areas like Gold Butte and the Desert National Wildlife Refuge like we want to," Wallin said.

He said the 140,000-home Coyote Springs development and a proposed electric transmission corridor threaten to mar the refuge, the largest in the United States outside Alaska. The area was recommended for protection by the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1973, but more than 30 years later Congress has yet to take action.

"Being a wildlife refuge isn't enough," Wallin said.

And Gold Butte, which serves as the entrance to the Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument, suffers from overuse and abuse by off-road vehicles and vandalism, he said.

The Wilderness Project also wants to protect areas in the Spring Mountains and the Highland Range south of Las Vegas.

Wallin said educating the public, especially new Las Vegans, about what a wilderness designation means and why it's important is a key part of the Nevada Wilderness Project's campaign.

But getting federal protection can sometimes be controversial because it means bikes and all other off-road vehicles are prohibited. Camping, hiking, rock climbing, fishing, hunting, canoeing, horseback riding and livestock grazing are all allowed in designated wilderness areas. Road building, mining, oil and gas drilling and logging are prohibited.

John Hiatt, a conservationist and board member of Friends of Nevada Wilderness, said conservationists have a responsibility to protect special natural areas for future generations.

"We want to ensure that wildlife, wilderness, cultural treasures and opportunities for outdoor recreation are protected for Nevadans for all time."