A neglected and abused treasure in our backyard

An underappreciated, under-resourced treasure of our public lands system is the Frenchman Mountain-Rainbow Gardens area, on the east side of the Las Vegas Valley, between the city and Lake Mead.

This 44,000-acre parcel, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, is strikingly scenic with extraordinary outdoor recreation potential, including hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and off-road vehicle use.

The geologic and archaeological resources of this area are also exceptional. Frenchman Mountain’s exposure of strata far exceeds the Grand Canyon in scope. Geology students from around the world come here to examine a rare exposure of the Great Unconformity, where 500 million-year-old sandstone lies adjacent to 1.7 billion-year-old granite and schist. There is no better place for students and other visitors to learn about deep time. 

The archaeological and paleontological crown jewel of Southern Nevada is Gypsum Cave, also within the Frenchman-Rainbow area. Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, Gypsum Cave is a sacred Southern Paiute site where shamans and storytellers traditionally acquired their power and learned their songs. Ice Age giant ground sloths, camels and horses were excavated from Gypsum Cave in 1930. The first DNA that was ever recovered from a fossil was obtained from Gypsum Cave sloth dung.

You might think that an area with so much to offer in the way of outdoor recreation and education — and which is so close to Las Vegas — would be highly valued, with designated trails, interpretive signs and covered picnic tables, especially when Red Rock Canyon, on the opposite side of the valley, is maxed out. Sadly, you would be wrong.

Annual visitation in Red Rock Canyon exceeds 3.5 million, which has forced the BLM to turn people away during the peak season. Yet the Frenchman-Rainbow area is forgotten and abused. It is the neglected stepchild of Southern Nevada’s public lands. Broken glass, graffiti and illegal dumping are out of control; Gypsum Cave and other features are routinely desecrated with graffiti. The entire area is a disgraceful blight on our system of public lands.The BLM does not have the resources to properly manage this area.

During its recent session, the Nevada Legislature passed a resolution urging Congress to create special management status, such as a national monument, for the Frenchman Mountain-Rainbow Gardens area. Only by having such status, with its own budget and law enforcement mandate, will this area receive appropriate protection and be transformed into the outdoor recreation and education resource it has the potential to become. 

We urge the Clark County Commission to pass a resolution similar to the one passed by the Legislature, and we urge the Nevada congressional delegation — with the leadership of Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., in whose district this area resides — to enact legislation to protect and manage this precious, neglected resource.

Steve Rowland is professor emeritus of geology at UNLV, president of Citizens for Active Management of the Frenchman Mountain-Rainbow Gardens Area, and a paleontologist at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. Helen Mortenson is secretary-treasurer of Citizens for Active Management of the Frenchman Mountain-Rainbow Gardens Area. James Ohrenschall is a state senator representing District 21, which includes the Frenchman Mountain-Rainbow Gardens area.