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What are Nevadas LAST CHANCE Scenic Places Former president, University of Nevada Former U.S. Senator and Nevada Governor The region lies in a remote and unpopulated area of northwestern Nevada, about 100 miles from Reno Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge on the Nevada and Oregon border provides visitors with an unforgettable wilderness experience Virginia City cemeteries dating back to the Comstock Near Mesquite Nevada, Flat Top Mesa is about 12 miles southwest of the Nevada-Utah-Arizona boundary Established in 1876, this privately owned cemetery is located in an older Reno neighborhood near the University of Nevada, Reno. Monte Cristos Castle is a stunning geologic region of colored rock formations located in northern Esmeralda County Mount Charleston is a high mountain recreation area near Las Vegas providing an alpine escape for millions of visitors West of Las Vegas and rising about 3 thousand feet from the valley floor the massive sandstone cliffs of Red Rock Canyon continues to beckon visitors with the promise of peace and relaxation Rosewood Wash and Canyon is a wildlife corridor with natural terrain and trails located less than two miles from downtown Reno Located in the Las Vegas Valley the wash is an archaeological treasure-trove with untouched landscape and critical wildlife habitat Located in downtown Reno the historic Virginia Street Bridge provides more than just passage across the beloved Truckee River for locals and visitors Walker Lake is a remnant of prehistoric Lake Lahonton and is vital for thousands of migratory birds Washoe Valley has become the only rural valley left along the entire Carson Range of the Sierras Scenic Nevada is a nonprofit conservation organization that works to preserve and enhance the scenic character of Nevada

We Must Protect Our Treasures (Joe Crowely)

The people of Scenic Nevada are to be commended for bringing to public attention descriptions of 13 special places in our state that need our help. These are places as differing in size as the . ve-million-acre Black Rock Desert and Reno's century-old Virginia Street Bridge. They are as diverse in character as Walker Lake (a relic of the ice age and a locale where white pelicans, snowy plovers and double-crested cormorants come to visit); the Upper Las Vegas Wash (where the fossils of mammoths and saber-toothed tigers have been found); and Esmeralda County's Monte Cristo's Castle (the home of those striking geologic formations known as hoodoos).

There are places as rich in history as the Washoe Valley, a major contributor to the growth of the Comstock; Red Rock Canyon, where over the millennia six Native American cultures - from Paleo-Indian to Southern Paiute - have . ourished; and the old cemeteries (Hillside in Reno, Silver Terrace and Gold Hill in the Virginia City area) in which repose abundant and important stories of the people of times past.

A few of these places are located just around the corner. That includes Flat Top Mesa, in the northeastern Mojave, which serves as a boundary and icon for the City of Mesquite, and the Rosewood Wash and Canyon, “a small but inviting island in a sea of housing developments” at the base of Mount Rose and within the city limits of Reno. And then there are the distant places such as the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, hard to reach but worth the long trip north to the Nevada-Oregon border. Mount Charleston is distant in another way, sitting as it does 12,000 feet up and providing a home to skiing, numerous plant species, the prairie falcon and the spotted bat.

All 13 of these scenic places are threatened by signi. cant problems. The problems are as diverse as neglect, vandalism, deterioration, inadequate resources, management challenges, safety issues, water diversions and - in many cases - the onward march of sometimes insensitive development. There also are answers to the threats and solutions to the problems, as Scenic Nevada, through this informative volume, makes clear. Read on!

  December 2006

  Former president, University of Nevada, Reno
  Joe Crowley



About Dr. Crowley

Dr. Joseph Crowley served as the University of Nevada, Reno president for a record-setting 23 years, from 1978 to 2001. He then served for a year (2003-04) as interim president of San Jose State University and again as interim of Nevada, Reno from December 2205 tp June 2006.

Among countless successes at the University, Dr. Crowley is responsible for the establishment the founding of the new College of Human and Community Sciences and of the Reynolds School of Journalism.

Dr. Crowley has been involved in numerous civic activities, including a two year term as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (1993-95) and 12 years on the local United Way board. Two institutions—Fresno State and the University of Iowa—have presented him with distinguished alumni awards, and he has received . ve honorary degrees.

Dr. Crowley is the author of “The Constant Conversation: A Chronicle of Campus Life,” “Notes from the President's Chair,” “No Equal in the World” and “In the Arena: The NCAA's First Century.”

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