Las Vegas Wash project team, volunteers
'Green-Up' new erosion control structure

Under sunny early autumn skies, more than 125 valley residents dug in October 1 at the Las Vegas Wash Green-Up, planting nearly 1,000 shrubs and trees near the banks of the waterway.

Conceived as a way to increase wildlife habitat while helping stabilize the Las Vegas Wash's banks, this fall's Wash Green-Up took place on more than two acres adjacent to the Rainbow Gardens Weir, one of the Wash's newest erosion control structures.

"The root systems of the shrubs and trees helps hold the soil in place," said Las Vegas Wash Green-Up project coordinator Keiba Crear. "Additionally, these plants will provide needed habitat for birds and animals living in the Wash, thus helping preserve the area's unique biodiversity."

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 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 18,000 trees and shrubs in several areas adjacent to the waterway.

"You really can't say enough about our volunteer corps," Crear said. "Residents from all over the valley have come out to help at event after event. It's wonderful to see the community play such an active role in enhancing the Wash."

The Las Vegas Wash plays a critical role in Southern Nevada's watershed, funneling nearly all of the 1,600-square-mile Las Vegas Valley's shallow groundwater, stormwater, urban runoff and treated wastewater back into Lake Mead. It also provides habitat for a wide array of wildlife and serves as a recreational area. Comprised of local, state, and federal agencies, environmental organizations, business leaders, and private citizens, the LVWCC was created in 1998 to develop and implement a long-term management plan for the 12-mile channel. For more information about the Las Vegas Wash, visit www.lvwash.org.

Fall 2005 Green-Up