Volunteers 'Green-Up' south banks of wash

The gusty autumn winds were no match for the approximately 100 valley residents who participated in the October 25 Las Vegas Wash Green-Up. In less than three hours, the ambitious crew planted nearly 1,000 shrubs and trees along the wash's banks. This community collaborative effort is sponsored in part by a grant from the Clark County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan.

This fall's event was held along the south bank of the Las Vegas Wash immediately upstream from a new erosion control structure. The effort was designed to help stabilize the wash's banks and thereby prevent erosion during storms.

"The erosion control structures we've installed have been very effective, but during flood events the water has a tendency to scour out the wash's banks," said Las Vegas Wash Green-Up project coordinator Keiba Crear. "These plants' root systems reinforce the soil while creating wildlife habitat."

The Las Vegas Wash Green-Up is only one project in an ongoing program overseen by the Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee (LVWCC) to protect and enhance the Las Vegas Wash. In addition to organizing volunteer plantings and building the dam-like erosion control structures, the coordination committee and its member agencies are armoring the wash's banks with boulders, removing acres of invasive plants and conducting extensive wildlife studies. During the past three years, volunteers have planted more than 15,000 trees and shrubs in several areas adjacent to the waterway. These plantings help to meet the Army Corps of Engineers' mitigation requirements. Currently, 43 acres of the 176 acres outlined in the Capital Improvement Plan, have been revegetated with an 83% survival rate.

The Green-Up is held twice a year, each spring and fall. The spring Green-Up, previously scheduled for February 28, 2004, has been cancelled due to construction, but if you are interested in participating in future Green-Ups, please call J.C. Davis at 258-7117.