Day 3: Red Rock Canyon

Writing on the rocks like this, are an common example of vandalism one can find in Red Rock Canyon.  

Red Rock Canyon, a National Conservation Area “located [just] 17 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip”, and managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) provides a different perspective on what constitutes the 'real' America; the “wilderness”. It has been argued that Americans seek to preserve the “wilderness” mainly because they perceive it as allowing them to momentarily and “recover the true selves we have lost to the corrupting influences of our artificial lives” (Cronon, 1996:16). Furthermore, the “wilderness” is also seen as offering a crucial link to America’s past, that is to the “American spirit” which helped shape American democracy (Cronon, 1996:13). There seems at last an element of reality in this, since after two days of the hustle and bustle of the Strip, our hike on the terrains of Red Rock Canyon offers a form of respite and relaxation. At the same time, though, there is clear evidence that this is not a purely natural environment. Even this area has been encroached upon. Under the BLM’s management and its principle of “multiple use and sustained yield of our nation’s resources” (Bureau of Land Management), the place has become a huge tourist attraction, resulting in the building of roads to facilitate access to the site. Moreover, Las Vegas’s exponential population growth in the past thirty years has resulted in the development of suburbs such as Summerlin, and the city’s expansion towards Red Rock Canyon also seems to point towards the prospect of further encroachment. This has in turn made preservation of the site difficult, as attested by evidence of vandalism. 

An image not associated with Las Vegas, Summerlin also represents an example of encroachment on Red Rock Canyon.  

Our drive back through Summerlin also serves to call into question the 'glamourous' image of the Strip that one has become accustomed to when thinking of Las Vegas. Summerlin is unflashy, underwhelming even, consisting of rows of plastered grey-colored houses, presumably built this way to blend into the desert and not disturb the landscape. Yet the willingness of the middle class to relocate here also suggests their desire to have access to the outdoors and the “wilderness”, rather than material possessions.  

Bureau of Land Management (n.d.) The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976: How the Stage was Set for BLM’s “Organic Act”. Available at: http://www.blm.gov/flpma/organic.htm [Accessed 14 May, 2016]

Cronon, W. (1996) The Trouble with Wilderness: Or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature. Environmental History, 1, (1) 7-28. Available at: http://faculty.washington.edu/timbillo/Readings%20and%20documents/Wilderness/Cronon%20The%20trouble%20with%20Wilderness.pdf [Accessed 14 May, 2016]