1. Nevada Wilderness Project
Photo by Warren Shaul
Pumpkinman Triathalon! by Rush Clark
It was quite an honor and a privilege to take swim practice (or at least semi-regularly) – NWP’s very own
part in NWP’s annual fund-raiser. I missed the boat last year Cameron Johnson. Overall, the training wasn’t all that bad. I
having just moved to the area. So, I pledged to do my part this think I actually reduced my carbon footprint over the training
year, especially since I’ve explored some of Nevada’s unique period because I rode my bike just about everywhere I went
landscapes. I never realized what an interesting and breath- – work, errands, even the bars.
taking place the desert can be; I still feel like I’m part of an old Less driving and more riding seemed to do the trick.
western with every visit. So, again, I felt compelled to make a Race day came before I knew it, and next thing I know, I’m
contribution and felt that participating in the Pumpkinman standing in cold water up to my waist at 7 a.m., wearing
Triathlon fund-raiser was a good start. spandex “tri” shorts that feel and look funny, thinking to
I can’t express how much fun the whole experience myself, “Well, there’s no turning back. Would the race start
was. Before I began my fund-raising push, I made an effort already!?!?” Then the gun sounded! I was off, hoping to keep
to learn more about the up with Cameron in the swim be-
organization itself, its cause I knew his stronger swim-
history, its mission, and ming might give him the upper
the areas that they’re hand. But I was soon engulfed by
working to protect on the sea of swimmers and had no
the next campaign. Even way of tracking Cameron down.
working right next to I was on my own and discovered
NWP and hanging out that the countless laps at the
with Cameron over the Moana Pool didn’t really prepare
last year and a half didn’t me for the chaos of 200 people
impart the knowledge battling for position in Lake
that I gained from the Mead’s open water. Where were
last couple of months the lanes!?
of study and fund-rais- Nevertheless, the swim
ing. That research and ended fairly quickly, and I
knowledge made it much proudly donned my Viva Las
easier to talk to folks and Wilderness jersey, taking off on
paint them a picture of my bike to chase Cameron down.
Nevada’s desert land- Robb Wolf bikes by the shores of Lake Mead. I don’t know how much atten-
scapes and provide an idea of how their donation would tion the jersey drew on the ride, but the announcer at the
help. Knowledge was more than half the battle because folks finish line noticed the red jerseys as we ran across and gave
definitely asked a lot of questions, especially folks beyond team Viva Las Wilderness some recognition for our efforts to
the confines of the sagebrush. In the end, asking for support protect the wild.
wasn’t as difficult as I once envisioned. A few emails followed The finish line was the hub of activity and team spirit,
by a few phone calls, maybe a prod here and there, and my notably Team Viva Las Wilderness; all teammates gathered
fund-raising was up and going. at the finish/transition area and rallied big cheers, high five
On the other side of things, I still had a race to prepare trains, and took lots of pictures. Participating in such a large
for. I may have solicited the fund-raising support, but I also event, the support of twenty wilderness-protecting, fun-loving
had to live up to my end of the deal – I had to compete in a teammates definitely instilled a sense of pride and camara-
triathlon! I wasn’t too concerned about the run and figured I derie I haven’t felt since competing in high school sports, an
could handle the bike, but the swim did elicit some feelings especially rewarding feeling knowing that all participants
of anxiety. A 750m (1/2 mile) swim is a long swim! Luck- joined together in an effort to keep Nevada wild! What a way
ily, I had a partner in crime to offer motivation for regular to spend the weekend. I look forward to more of those!

2. Fall 2007
Nevada Wilderness The colors of fall, et al. by Ross Cooper
Project I’m not being merely literal here, I’m speaking metaphorically. When I bleed, say
from my nose or a paper cut, I bleed Red Sox red. Oh, sure, to the casual observer (you;
Northern Office a doctor; any sane person) it’s the same, but to the true fan, it’s a color steeped in 86
8550 White Fir Street
years of tradition, heartbreak and curse, ready to rupture at any moment like a Taran-
Reno, NV 89523
tino film.
775.746.7850
So what would it take for a native member of Red Sox nation to miss the opening
Southern Office round of the baseball playoffs and
4220 S. Maryland Pkwy not complain? With Boston winning
Suite 402D and the Yankees losing!? Something
Las Vegas, NV 89119 pretty spectacular, I can assure
702.369.1871 you. Fortunately, the wild areas of
Esmeralda County qualify.
A 501(c) 3 non-profit
corporation I had arrived Friday night
well after sunset, so I woke Satur-
NWP Board of Directors day morning to the stunning and
Bret Birdsong, President surprising vista of the desert below
Brian O’Donnell, Vice President the remote high-point of Nevada,
Lynn Schiek, Treasurer
Boundary Peak. It is in a vast sweep
Chris Todd
Tori King, Secretary
of land just north and east of Dyer,
Skip @ Silver Peak
Rene Valladares known as Fish Lake Valley, complete with the natural hot springs of
NWP Staff The Crossing and below the dramatic ridge of the White Mountains, then set with their
John Wallin first fall of snow.
Director The opening day involved hiking Icehouse Canyon in the Silver Peak WSA. Here
Kristie Connolly was rock of a different color, so to speak. The oxidation of mineralized rock leads to
Associate Director an array of scenic tints and hues. The reds, pinks and yellows come from iron salts,
the greens from the decomposition of mica, the purples a result of manganese. And as
John Tull
picturesque as these striations are, they were surpassed the very next day on our hike
Conservation Director
through the roadless backcountry of the Boundary Peak Wilderness. Down the entire
Mackenzie Banta
canyon were the willows and alder, the cottonwoods and aspen, already gone deep red,
Development Director
bright yellow and flaming gold in their autumn turn.
Cameron Johnson
Go nature. Nice play. There was only one October; go out and enjoy it.
N. Nevada Outreach Director
Nick Dobric More from Pumpkinman! by Rush Clark
S. Nevada Outreach Director We ran, we swam and we biked and along the way we helped NWP protect wild
Cynthia Scholl land in Nevada. On October 14th, 16 Wild Athletes converged on Boulder City, Nevada to
Membership Coordinator run the Pumpkinman Triathlon for NWP. Their efforts raised over $13,000!
Nancy Hall Many thanks go out to: Katy
Gold Butte Organizer Chandler-Isacksen, Rush Clark,
Kristie Connolly, Nick Dobric,
Coalition Partners Ramsey Hong, Cameron “Mr.
Campaign for America’s Wilderness Febuary” Johnson, JD Kreimer,
Friends of Nevada Wilderness Josephine Old, Pauline Orendain,
Red Rock Audubon Society Carrie Sandstedt, Jen Schmidt,
The Wilderness Society Cynthia Scholl, Chris Todd, and
Robb Wolf.
The Nevada Wilderness Project Read other accounts of the
is committed to saving the spectac- race and see photos @
ular, rugged-and imperiled-public
lands in Nevada as Wilderness, the www.weethump.com.
strongest protection possible
www.wildnevada.org

3. Fall 2007
Gold Butte Update by Nancy Hall
Nevada Wilderness Project typically does not ask This left 316,000 acres of potential wilderness unprotected!
its members to engage in the many transportation plans The future is not so gloomy for Gold Butte! We are
being implemented throughout our public lands but Gold working closely with the BLM to monitor the area as
Butte is special. Once again, NWP members came out in stewards, implement protective measures for sensitive re-
force with comments to the Bureau of Land Management sources, and address the heavy visitation that is impacting
concerning the Interim Transportation Plan for Gold Butte the land. Locally, the Friends of Gold Butte meet monthly
in Southern Nevada. Thank you to all members who sup- with the Moapa Band of Paiutes for presentations, service
ported trips and
the pro- fun. The
tection of next step
citizen- for Gold
proposed Butte
wilder- is the
ness designa-
areas and tion of
endan- National
gered Conser-
cultural vation
resourc- Area
es. with
As wilder-
we pre- ness in
pare to spectacu-
celebrate lar areas
the 5th such as
anniver- Garrett
sary of Buttes,
the Clark the
County Virgin
Public Moun-
Lands Bill we reflect on the many victories of this Act. Con- tains and Billy Goat Peak.
sider Wee Thump, the first designated citizens’ proposed What next? Write to Congressman Porter, Senators Reid
wilderness and Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area and Ensign and express the need for wilderness in Gold
(NCA) and the North McCullough Wilderness area desig- Butte!
nated within. These legislative victories are milestones that Congressman Porter – 218 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515
will set precedents for future wilderness legislation. Senator Reid – 528 Hart SOB Washington, DC 20510
Meanwhile, Gold Butte became highly contentious Senator Ensign – 364 Russell SOB, Washington, DC 20510
with some local rural residents and did not receive the
wilderness designations it greatly deserved in the 2002 bill.
Lime Canyon and Jumbo Springs were both designated
as wilderness and Garrett Buttes was released from Wil-
derness Study Area (WSA) status. In all, an almost equal
amount of acres were designated as released from WSA.
Wee want your stories and photos
Weethump.com is a blog chronicling our adventures in wild places and NWP’s efforts to protect them. We invite you
to be a part of it by posting comments on the blog, adding your photos and sending us your stories from Nevada’s Wil-
derness, You can also find articles from the newsletter on the blog as well as extended content including interviews with
prominent people in the community, photography, and additional informative articles on the web.
www.weethump.com

4. Fall 2007
www.wildnevada.org

5. Fall 2007
www.weethump.com

6. Fall 2007
Wovoka Happenings by Steve Pelligrini
On September 8 twenty-one people from
the Yerington area visited Bald Mountain. For
many this was their first view of the proposed
Wovoka Wilderness. The caravan left Yering-
ton at 8:00 AM and arrived at Bald Mountain
shortly before noon. After lunch everyone hiked
to a point east of the first caldera where there is
a good view of the east slope of the Pine Grove
Range and of the East Walker Valley.
Roger Scholl spoke briefly to the group about
wilderness, particularly about what wilderness
would mean to Lyon County. Most attendees
ing. Great food, wine and good conversation
made for a most enjoyable evening. Roger Scholl
and Cameron Johnson gave a brief talk about
wilderness and answered many questions. Short-
ly before midnight friends parted and our grow-
ing coterie of supporters of wilderness in Lyon
County left with new resolve to see this dream
come to fruition.
As they discussed at the pot luck, there is
little new news from Lyon County at this time.
The leadership in the county is still in a stale-
mate with our Congressional Delegation over
several aspects of a combined lands bill for Lyon
chose to hike southward to enjoy a better view of and Mineral Counties. The best thing that we as
Bald Mountain and the canyons on its east slope. supporters of wilderness in both counties can do
At days end we lingered, hat- is to focus on becoming familiar with the idea of
ing to see the trip end. At last wilderness and the proposal
it was decided we wanted to areas themselves. Please
keep our momentum go- continue to check our events
ing so plans were made for a calendar for the next values
pot luck at Debbie and Steve trips to one of these spectac-
Pellegrini’s house. ular areas!
The potluck was held
on the evening of September
29th with 30 people attend- Photos by Kurt Kuznicki
Ice House Canyon Map:
Icehouse Canyon is in the Silver Peak Range Wilderness Study Area that Ross mentions in his
recount of the Wilderness Rendezvous. It is a gorgeous winding canyon full of amazing mineralized colors and rock
formations.
Access to the canyon is all on good dirt roads, allowing vehicles with 2WD and clearance to access this unique
area. The Silver Peak Range is the eastern border of Fish Lake Valley. When traveling to Icehouse Canyon, the most
notable landmark is the Dyer Ranch, which is private property, but the turn is at the northern end of the ranch. If you
go please send us pictures and stories of your adventures!
In the Benchmark Atlas (Black) – pg. 70, B5 In the DeLorme Gazetteer (Red) – pg. 58, D4
www.wildnevada.org

7. Fall 2007
Exposure by MacKenzie Banta
The 2008 Wild Men of
Wild Nevada calendars are
BACK! This year twelve full color
photos and twelve spanking dandies
grace your wall showing spectacular
Nevada land (and man) scapes.
Each calendar is $20 and goes
toward the Project’s work to keep
Nevada wild. You can order yours
today at www.wildnevada.org.
Keep posted to www.weet-
hump.com to vote for your favorite
wild man!
The Nevada Wilderness Project
launched our 2008 Wild Men of
Wild Nevada calendars in Las Vegas
on October 12th at the Palms Casino
and Resort. Thanks to the sup-
port of the N9ne Group, Fiji Water,
Southern Wine and Spirits and the
Nevada. Thank you to all those people and businesses that
Art of Music, the calendars (and many of the models) were
helped to make our wild night possible.
the hit of the party! This fundraising event located in the
Rain nightclub provided the dancing crowd the opportu-
nity to learn more about our spectacular wild lands around
Please help us support Senator Harry Reid’s opposition to the coal-fired power plants
proposed for Ely. This is an important issue to wilderness in Nevada. We have collected info on
coal power on our blog @ weethump.com. Post your comments and thoughts, and tell your
friends how Harry Reid’s energy and environmental policies are good for wilderness and Nevada.
This is what’s at stake: Near proposed coal power plants.
www.weethump.com

8. NWP Events! Northern Nevada:
Happy Hours @ Great Basin Brewery: Hikes/Events:
Nov 0th -8pm Nov th – Wovoka Proposed Wilderness, Lyon Co
Dec 11th -8pm Dec 1st – Wovoka Proposed Wilderness, Lyon Co
Jan 1th -8pm
Cameron Johnson is there for all your NorNev Wilderness info needs @
cameron.johnson@wildnevada.org
Southern Nevada:
Events:
November 6th (Tuesday) we will have an event to celebrate the 5th
Anniversary of the 2002 Wilderness protections in Clark County. At
6:30-8:30pm at the Clark County Public Library, Conference Room at 1401
E. Flamingo (at Maryland). We will have keynote speaker David Bert, host
of KNPR’s Along the Way, free raffle, food, and fun.
November 18th Wilderness values trip Gold Butte with an Archaeologist
sharing knowledge about this spectacular area.
December 8-9 Wilderness values trip to Gold Butte with optional camp out.
Happy Hours:
November 28th Happy Hour 6-8pm Steiner’s Nevada Style Pub, 1750 N Buffalo
December 19th Happy Hour 6-8pm Freakin Frog, 4700 S Maryland Pkwy
Please contact the illustrious Nick Dobric for details on these events @
nick.dobric@wildnevada.org (702) 369-1871
Protect your Wild Lands
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an envelope and mail it to us @ NV Wilderness Project, 8550 White Fir Street; Reno, NV 89523
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