Clark County bans shooting in forested camping area near Red Rock Canyon

Originally published by Cody Miller, News 3 Las Vegas

Read here: https://news3lv.com/news/local/clark-county-bans-shooting-in-forested-camping-area-near-red-rock-canyon

November 19th, 2019

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Nonprofit organization Save Red Rock (SRR) announced Tuesday the Clark County Commissioners’ unanimous decision to pass an ordinance permanently banning shooting in Lovell Canyon.

Lovell Canyon is described as a rare forested area with dispersed camping and is located behind Red Rock Canyon.

The ordinance was introduced by Commissioner Justin Jones.

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The ban comes in response to results of lead testing that SRR and the Brett Torino Foundation sponsored in May.

Heather Fisher, president of Save Red Rock, said, “We are grateful to our Clark County Commissioners for taking action to protect our public lands and recreation areas.”

Soil tests conducted in Lovell Canyon by Dr. John Hiatt found concentrations of lead more than 30 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s threshold for safety, according to SRR, which says that experts believe the levels are due to unusually high deposits of lead ammunition.

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SSR says that Lovell Canyon’s forest has for years been subject to gunfire and dumped trash targets, and more than 455 acres were burnt from exploding targets.

Supporters signed a petition in August 2017 that requested the U.S. Forest Service prohibit shooting in the Lovell Canyon camping area.

The Forest Service, the two organizations, Clark County Commissioners, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and a number of other organizations formed a task force to address the issues.