LAS VEGAS — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) invites the public to the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) next weekend to learn about the insects living there and attend a session covering basic nature photography techniques. This is the first in a series of monthly programs scheduled at the wildlife refuge north of Las Vegas.
On Saturday, September 18, 2010, the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership (SNAP) is presenting a program for the entire family on the insects of the Mojave Desert. Virginia Ramos-Barajas, Environmental Education and Outreach Coordinator with the Great Basin Institute, will lead an interactive exploration of the fascinating insects on the Desert NWR. The program begins at 1 p.m. at the Corn Creek Visitor Contact Station and concludes at 3 p.m.
SNAP is a partnership comprised of professionals from the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. Representatives from the agencies work together to coordinate activities that protect, conserve, and ensure the proper use of public lands in southern Nevada.
To register for the "Bugs of the Mojave" program, contact Virginia Ramos-Barajas via email at virginia_ramos-barajas@partner.nps.gov or by phone at (702) 293-8708. On Sunday, September 19, 2010, Ida Castillo, Visitor Services & Environmental Education Specialist with the Great Basin Institute, will provide basic information about nature photography. Participants are asked to bring their own camera — digital or film — in order to practice a variety of camera techniques while photographing wildlife and landscapes along the Corn Creek trail. The program begins at 4 p.m. at the Corn Creek Visitor Contact Station and concludes at 5:30 p.m.
To register for the photography program, contact Ida Castillo via email at ida_castillo@fws.gov or by phone at (702) 879-6110.
The Corn Creek Visitor Contact Station is located approximately 25 miles north of Las Vegas on U.S. Highway 95. A sign on the east side of the highway marks the four-mile-long gravel road to Corn Creek. The station is the main entrance to the Desert NWR.
From now through Memorial Day, the visitor station is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Additionally, the station will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Mondays of holiday weekends. The Service operates the station with staff provided under an agreement with the Southern Nevada Conservancy. The station offers a selection of books and gifts for sale, as well as the opportunity to ask questions and pick up literature.
Other events scheduled this fall at the Desert NWR include:
- September 23, 2010 - Celebrate National Public Lands Day by volunteering to help salvage plants and remove brush along the proposed Birdsong Trail
- October 16, 2010 - Celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week with a twilight walk on the Corn Creek Trail
- October 23, 2010 - Join the Service, Friends of Desert NWR Complex, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, and the Red Rock Audubon Society for the first of three days dedicated to building the new Birdsong Trail
The Desert NWR encompasses 1.5 million acres of the Mojave Desert in southern Nevada 25 miles north of Las Vegas, and is the largest national wildlife refuge in the continental United States. The wildlife refuge was established May 20, 1936, for the conservation and development of wildlife resources, including the desert bighorn sheep. For more information about the Desert NWR, visit www.fws.gov/desertcomplex/desertrange on the Internet or contact Amy Sprunger, Refuge Manager, via email at amy_sprunger@fws.gov or by phone at (702) 879-6110.
