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Clark County Garbage and Littering definitions

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Clark County Garbage and Littering definitions

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MunicodeNEXT, the industry's leading search application with over 3,300 codes and growing!

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Vegas Valley Manual to Better Water Quality

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Vegas Valley Manual to Better Water Quality

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The local manual put together by Clack County to educate residents on how to help maintain high water Quality

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Vegas Valley Manual to Better Water Quality.pdf

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Local Efforts to clean up the Las Vegas Valley

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Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is revered by many and is considered home to multitudes of flora and fauna. It is also swiftly becoming one of the most-visited national areas in the state. And locals and visitors alike say it's full of trash.

Ben Brown, who calls Washington state home, said he and his family, which includes his 1-year-old son, Benavram, travel in an RV and stay on Bureau of Land Management land. The family visited Red Rock Canyon this spring.

"It's the worst BLM spot that I've been to for trash," Brown said. "There's broken glass in all the parking lots, not to mention most of the access spots have become big shooter spots. So people are going out there leaving all their shooter trash and everything else. It's real hard to clean up."

He estimated that his family picked up six bags of trash during the two weeks they stayed at the canyon.

"This isn't our sole purpose, but when we get to an area, we clean it up. We want to leave it better than when we arrived for the next person," he said. "There's not much you can say to somebody who doesn't give a crap. A lot of those lands, they go out there and think ... it's for single use. They think, 'OK, I'm done here,' and they leave all their trash. But that's not the case. It stays there. Even if you don't care about that spot, there are so many other people who use it. You should do the respectful thing."

Dinorah Arambula of Summerlin sees it all the time. She began hiking four years ago and is now a hike leader for the 52 Peak Club. She said tourists are "always leaving empty water bottles along the trail. If I have room in my backpack, I'll pick them up and carry them out. People are irresponsible. They think they can go out and enjoy nature, but they don't think of the other people who (come behind them) and want to enjoy nature, too. They should realize other people want to enjoy the view, not see trash."

Steve Allen is a trail monitor for the BLM. He collects trash in Red Rock Canyon when he's out there and estimated he'll fill two grocery sacks of rubbish each time.

"There's a lack of respect. It just amazes me. It's terrible," Allen said. "It's our backyard. In my own mind, I wonder what their homes look like. Are they tossing everything around there?"

Chuck Williams, president of Friends of Red Rock, said as the visitor count goes up, the trash gets worse. Still, he suspects that locals are the main culprit, as most of the trash seems to be at the two parking lots by Calico Basin, a predominantly locals' spot.

"They know it's a no-fee area, so people aren't paying to get in. That's where they go, and they avoid having to drive the whole loop," he said.

He said the trash bins in the parking lots there are often overflowing even though they're emptied every day. The Friends group is trying to get more bins put out there.

But that's not the only issue.

"People with dogs," Williams said. "That's getting worse, all over Red Rock. We put up dog bag dispensers, and a lot of dog owners use them, but a lot don't. Some people will use them to put up their dog's waste, tie the bag up and then leave it on the side of the trail and walk off. Like they think someone is going to come along and pick it up for them. Really? What's wrong with these people?"

Williams said the overlook off state Route 159 was another hot spot.

"You can go out almost every day and pick up trash there," he said. "Other areas are hit-and-miss."

Friends of Red Rock Canyon runs a group, Canyon Cleanup, which is devoted to picking up trash. Liz Carmer is the volunteer leader for it. The group goes out once or twice a month to pick up litter at various locations and along the roadside, including the pullouts for Oak Creek and First Creek, at the overlook, Cowboy Trail Rides, and some of Moenkopi Road to the campground. The volunteers also take care of the Visitor Center, Red Springs, the Kraft Mountain lot, Calico Basin Road, and all the stops on the Scenic Loop Drive and the Dead Horse Loop cycling trail. The effort consists of as many as 24 people who spend an hour and a half on the task.

Carmer said that a day when only about eight volunteers are available may generate 12 full trash bags, each roughly 5 gallons. A day with 15 or more volunteers may result in enough to fill a short-bed truck.

They find a variety of things. Cigarette butts are a given, so are plastic bags, beer bottles and plastic water bottles.

What other kinds of trash have they picked up?

"A glass pot pipe, a loaded gun ... dead dogs, a letter from God, food wrappers, full cups of coffee, children's toys, memorials to the dead and cremated remains," Carmer said. "We leave (the remains). The worst mess I've come across was near the back lot for Dead Horse Loop off Route 160. Some group shot at 24 grape soda cans, leaving shot gun shell casings and shot-up purple cans all over the desert. In addition, they apparently brought a 32-inch flat-screen TV and used it for target practice. Finally, the violators took black spray paint and wrote on about six large boulders. The writings included anti-police lingo."

Still, there's an effort building to see the canyon gets cleaned up. Canyon Cleanup volunteers have pulled up to an area to find it's already been cleaned by anonymous "trail angels," who are much appreciated, Carmer said.

Kirsten Cannon, public affairs specialist with the BLM Southern Nevada District Office, said that desert dumping is a Class A misdemeanor, which can mean up to 1 year in prison and/or a $100,000 fine. "The federal magistrate court for Southern Nevada has set collateral amounts from $150 to $ 1,000," she said.

"The government has the option of fining more, if the situation calls for it. The government can also have the violator pay for cleanup costs as well," Cannon added.

Visit friendsofredrockcanyon.org.
To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.

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Visitors to Las Vegas area seeing more litter in Red Rock Canyon

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Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is revered by many and is considered home to multitudes of flora and fauna. It is also swiftly becoming one of the most-visited national areas in the state. And locals and visitors alike say it's full of trash.

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Red Rock Canyon is littered with trash