Development, Rock Climbing, and Interpretation in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, 1960-2010
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UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 5-2010 Transforming space into place: Development, rock climbing, and interpretation in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, 1960-2010 Megan Sharp Weatherly University of Nevada Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Cultural History Commons, Desert Ecology Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Policy Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration Commons, Social History Commons, and the United States History Commons Repository Citation Weatherly, Megan Sharp, "Transforming space into place: Development, rock climbing, and interpretation in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, 1960-2010" (2010). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 362. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/1601901 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TRANSFORMING SPACE INTO PLACE: DEVELOPMENT, ROCK CLIMBING, AND INTERPRETATION IN RED ROCK CANYON NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA, 1960-2010 by Megan Sharp Weatherly Bachelor of Arts Stephen F. Austin State University 2004 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in History Department of History College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas May 2010 Copyright by Megan Sharp Weatherly 2010 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE COLLEGE We recommend the thesis prepared under our supervision by Megan Sharp Weatherly entitled Transforming Space into Place: Development, Rock Climbing, and Interpretation in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, 1960-2010 be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Andrew G. Kirk, Committee Chair David M. Wrobel, Committee Member Eugene P. Moehring, Committee Member Robert Futrell, Graduate Faculty Representative Ronald Smith, Ph. D., Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate College May 2010 ii ABSTRACT Transforming Place into Space: Development, Rock Climbing, and Interpretation in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, 1960-2010 by Megan Sharp Weatherly Dr. Andrew G. Kirk, Examination Committee Chair Professor of History University of Nevada, Las Vegas Though Americans tend to view wilderness as separate from nature, environmental historians have argued that wilderness is a cultural construct more than a quantifiable geographic category. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (NCA), a 195,000- acre tract located west of Las Vegas, Nevada, is one such cultural construction. Since 1960, this BLM-managed parcel has served as a local and regional expression of broader, national trends in outdoor recreation, interpretation, and development and thereby forced visitors to engage (often unknowingly) in a cultural dialogue about consumerism, technology, and identity. With information from newspapers, archival collections, oral histories, and government documents, this thesis illustrates the complex relationship between humans and nature by examining the stories of climbers, environmentalists, developers, and interpreters in Red Rock Canyon NCA. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii VICINITY MAP ................................................................................................................ ix INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1 DRAWING LINES IN THE SANDSTONE: RED ROCK & DEVELOPMENT ......................................................... 22 Government Development ..................................................................... 24 The Possibility of Picnics in the Shadows of Derricks: Oil and Gas Leasing in Red Rock Canyon ......................................................... 33 The Summerlin Dilemma: Establishing a Buffer Zone ......................... 39 Blue Diamond South Pumped Storage Power: Playing Inside Politics ......................................................................................... 48 Home Developers: Eyeing Green Near Red Rock ................................. 51 Red Rock Resort and the Fight for Viewshed Protection ...................... 63 CHAPTER 2 FROM PTERODACTYL NESTS TO LEGISLATED MORALITY: THE CULTURE OF CLIMBING IN THE CANYONS ....................... 70 The Rise of Rock Climbing in America ................................................ 72 Climbing in Red Rock Canyon .............................................................. 85 Legislating Morality for Climbers ....................................................... 105 CHAPTER 3 THE NATURE OF INTERPRETATION, THE INTERPRETATION OF NATURE: TELLING STORIES AT RED ROCK ........................ 115 Interpretation in the National Park Service .......................................... 118 Interpretation at Red Rock Canyon ...................................................... 125 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 162 APPENDIX TIMELINE OF EVENTS RELATED TO RED ROCK CANYON .... 168 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 172 VITA ............................................................................................................................... 197 iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I came to UNLV based upon the strength of the American West faculty, and the history faculty on my committee—Drs. Andy Kirk, David Wrobel, and Eugene Moehring—have proven to me a thousand times over their exceptional scholarly skills and also demonstrated spectacular abilities as teachers. No student could ask for a more helpful, challenging, engaging, and supportive trio of academics under whom to study. Dr. Kirk not only encouraged me to pursue Red Rock as a thesis topic when I didn’t believe enough material existed to do so, but he also offered valuable nuggets of wisdom and insightful criticisms that helped shape this final product immensely. Dr. Wrobel provided even-keeled counsel on a variety of subjects and constantly presented me with opportunities during my semesters at UNLV. Dr. Moehring served as a springboard for ideas and often suggested avenues for additional research based on his incredible knowledge of Las Vegas. Dr. Robert Futrell kindly agreed to serve as my Graduate Faculty Representative and has put up with my many emails. Additionally, Drs. David Holland, Tom Wright, Elizabeth Fraterrigo, and David Tanenhaus provided helpful advice, words of encouragement, and outstanding teaching models. And before I came to UNLV, Dr. Mark Barringer, mentor and friend, showed me the beauty and complexity of the American West and held me to standards as high as my own. At UNLV, I also found a lively cadre of fellow graduate students who were always willing to suggest other avenues of thought, to offer words of constructive criticism and kindness, and to help me develop intellectually and professionally. Mike and Leisl Childers, Adla C. Earl, Chris Manning, Debbie Rayner, and Rachel Rinn all deserve the utmost of thanks. Supporting me in my “off years” and earning a hearty domo arigato are my Okinawa pals Pebbles Banez-Sambolanay, John “Russ” Burgreen III, Carrie v Carmichael, Mike Daley, Jim Kassebaum, Ayako Kawamitsu, Jeanny Pidgeon, Yoshihiro Shinzato, Rachel Veit, and Lloyd Wainscott. Research is a time-consuming task that often depends on the benevolence of others. I am fortunate to have been the recipient of goodwill from a multitude of individuals. Jeff van Ee spent several hours helping me fill in the gaps in my knowledge of development issues related to Red Rock Canyon. His memory and environmental awareness have few equals. Howard Booth gave generously of his time and energy as I unleashed a barrage of questions on him one Friday afternoon at his home in Boulder City. He also graciously allowed me to borrow more than 40 years of his personal files and Sierra Club correspondence on Red Rock Canyon. Larry DeAngelo explained aspects of the Red Rock climbing scene to me with patience and kindness, always providing helpful anecdotes and a dose of good humor. Joel Mur, Rodger Schmitt, Chris Miller, and Elsie Sellars all worked hard to recall details of jobs they left years ago, and each helped me reconstruct the history of interpretation at Red Rock far