SOUTHERN NEVADA BARK RANGERS

By Kimberly Reinhart and Paula Jacoby-Garrett

Each spring the National Park Service celebrates America’s treasures during National Park Week, which is scheduled for April 16 to 24, 2022. You might assume only humans are invited to this party, but you’d be wrong! In 2016, the Olympic National Park in Washington introduced the BARK Ranger Program, which quickly grew in popularity and is now offered at nearly fifty parks across the United States. Fortunately for Southern Nevadans, the Lake Mead National Recreation Area participates in the program and offers many dog friendly trails and beaches for us to explore with our four-legged friends. What is the BARK Ranger Program? The BARK Ranger Program is designed to help preserve the delicate ecosystems of the national parks. BARK is an acronym for: Bag your pet’s waste. Always leash your pet. Respect wildlife. Know where you can go. To join the program at Lake Mead, visit a Park Ranger at the Alan Bible Visitor Center (702-293-8990; 10 Lakeshore Road, Boulder City) and complete the BARK Ranger pledge. You will have the option to purchase an official BARK Ranger tag for your dog to show off. Each park has their own tag, so you can collect these as you travel and explore. If you are in the mood for a beach, the National Park Service suggests taking your dog to the following beaches: Special Events Beach, Kayak & Canoe Beach, PWC Beach, North Arizona Telephone Cove, Princess Cove, and Cabinsite Cove.

If you are in the mood for a hike, dog-friendly trails include the Historic Railroad Trail, Owl Canyon, Bluffs Trail, Redstone, and more. The Historic Railroad Trail is extremely popular due to the flat terrain and sweeping views of the Lake. In Spring, Owl Canyon is a great option because the walls of the canyon provide shade, keeping you and your pup from getting too warm. On the first day of National Park Week, April 16th, park entrance fees ($25 per car) are waived. If you have been waiting for an excuse to explore On Bea’s first trip to Lake Mead, the park in our backyard, now she became a BARK Ranger. is the time to go!

Always keeping your pet on a leash is key to the BARK Ranger Program. A leash could be what keeps your pet safe and by your side when and if you are fortunate enough to see wildlife while hiking.

Piper, a Bernadoodle, enjoys an early morning hike with her family Braelyn, Brynn, and Brooke.

OWL CANYON TRAIL

Willow, Lammy, and Pepper recommend these beaches. ➠

(2.25 mile round trip hike) The Owl Canyon Trailhead is located along Lakeshore Drive in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. From Las Vegas, drive to the Las Vegas Wash entrance station, then south and east to 33 Hole Road (there is a sign and turn off from Lakeshore Drive). The trailhead is on the left side of the parking lot by the picnic tables.

From the trailhead sign, the trail immediately leads down from the parking lot, across a flat area, up a small ridge and into an open area. Multiple trails lead to the left, which is back toward Lakeshore Road and up the drainage toward Owl Canyon. Follow the most obvious path and after about 0.25-mile, you and your furry friend will enter the first of the narrow canyons. Tall walls of conglomerate rock form the slot canyon and have created interesting shapes and textures. Watch for white markings on the walls which are the signs that Barn Owl once roosted above. The trail will pass through two sets of culverts under Lakeshore Road and the River Mountains Loop Trail. After the second culvert crossing, the canyon opens to a wide wash. Share a snack with your trail companion and return the way you came.

One of the most accessible slot canyons from Las Vegas, Owl Canyon is fun to explore on a nice spring day, as Tilly and Madilyn do here.

SPAIN PASSES NEW LAW:

AS OF JANUARY 5, 2022 PETS WILL BE RECOGNIZED AS LEGAL FAMILY MEMBERS

Spain is not the first country to pass a law recognizing pets as sentient beings rather than property; hopefully though it is not the last country to do so. In recent years several countries such as France, New Zealand, Slovakia, Portugal, Germany, Austria and Switzerland have passed similar laws. Spain’s new law considers the welfare and feelings of pets in a breakup or split allowing for shared custody and visitation rights. The basis for the law is that animals are sentient beings with emotions. Rather than having to prove pet ownership the law provides for the welfare of pets much like the welfare and needs of children in separation or divorce cases.

Pet parents already consider pets as part of their family. Fortunately, this law is part of a growing trend of governments to treat pets as family members instead of possessions to be divided in divorce or separation settlements.

For more information:

Animal Legal Defense Fund https://aldf.org/issue/animals-legal-status/ www.petguide.com/blog/dog/spain-passes-newlaw-to-recognize-pets-as-legal-family-members/

BANNING USE OF HELICOPTERS…

Nevada Representative Dina Titus introduced bill H.R. 6635 banning the use helicopters by the Bureau of Land Management in chasing down federally protected mustangs and burros to remove them from the range. The practice terrorizes and injures them; the inhumanity of this practice is Rep Titus’s reason for taking action.

For more information:

www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6635 https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org

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