Red Rock/ Sloan Field Office
| Contacts: | Hillerie C. Patton | , 702-515-5046 | , hillerie_c_patton@blm.gov |
New Red Rock Visitor Arrival Center to Open Wednesday
Las Vegas – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will open the visitor arrival center at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Wednesday, Oct. 28 which is part of the new visitor center project. It offers an information station, exhibits, and bookstore.
“We welcome the community to come out and see the new arrival center,” said Tim Wakefield, BLM Red Rock/Sloan field manager. “Red Rock is one of the BLM’s crown jewels and is a source of pride for southern Nevada.”
It is the first component of a multi-phased project including outdoor exhibits, an amphitheater, redesign of the old visitor center into an administrative building, and construction of a new fee booth. The full project is expected to be completed by mid 2010 and is set to provide enhanced visitor services such as additional educational opportunities.
Construction of the new visitor center was approved by the Secretary of the Interior to use $23 million dollars from the sale of public land in southern Nevada under the authority of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. This project replaces the old center, which opened in 1982 during a time when Red Rock received only 20,000 visitors each year compared to more than one million today.
Red Rock Canyon was designated as Nevada's first National Conservation Area. It is located 17 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip on Charleston Boulevard/State Route 159. The area is 195,819 acres and includes a 13-mile scenic drive, more than 30 miles of hiking trails, picnic areas, and the Red Spring Interpretive Boardwalk. The visitor center is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, and is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
The BLM manages more land - 253 million acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
Red Rock/ Sloan Field Office 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive Las Vegas, NV 89130