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January 30, 2004
TOAD-ALLY AWESOME Beatty enhances toad habitat
By RICHARD STEPHENS
the Enhance Our Community: A Toad-ally Awesome Design Workshop. The workshop, which kicked off the evening of Jan. 22 at the Stagecoach Hotel and Casino, involved members of the committee and of the town advisory board. But representatives were also there from a number of agencies, organizations and institutions, including the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Participants represented the State of Nevada from the Department of Forestry and the Division of Wildlife, as well as instructors, researchers, and students from UNR and UNLV. Another contingent of faculty and students came from California Polytechnic. Dr. James Marble represented Nye County, from the Department of Natural Resources and Federal Facilities. Other organizations taking part included the Audubon Society, the Friends of the Amargosa Toad, the Goldwell Open Air Museum, the Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and The Nature Conservancy. The goal of the workshop was to create a plan for trails and other recreational and interpretive facilities that would protect the habitat of the Amargosa toad and other sensitive local species, all while making the community more attractive for residents and visitors. On Friday and Saturday participants were divided into five working groups to develop concepts and designs for different parts of the project. The Oasis Valley Trail, Southern Trail and Railroad rights of way teams worked primarily on ideas for recreational trails along the Amargosa River corridor and the old railroad grade to Rhyolite. Members developed ideas for the trails including such amenities as shade structures, interpretive and directional signage, benches and picnic tables, as well as provisions for trailheads and parking. The "Toad Town" team brainstormed ideas for tying the project into the community, providing parks and other facilities, and general beautification. The entry team came up with a number of interesting designs for landmarks and signs to mark the three entryways into Beatty from Las Vegas, from the north, and from Death Valley. These ideas favored using local materials and themes appropriate to the history and culture of the community. The participants seemed enthusiastic about the project and put in long hours developing plans and ideas. Walls and tables of the two large rooms of the community center were covered with maps, drawings, and lists of ideas. Exactly which of the ideas and designs from the workshop might become reality is something only time, and funding, will tell. Alex Watt, from the Army Corps of Engineers, told the group that if they came back in 10 years they might not recognize any of the ideas they had generated, but that they would be the starting point for the things that would happen. Beatty Habitat Committee Chairman J. R. Schultz and Beatty Town Advisory Board Chairman Rick Wilson both congratulated the participants on their work. Wilson said the workshop was a real credit to the people who have worked so hard on the committee since it was formed in June 2000. |
