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There are more than three hundred rock art panels containing 1700 design elements within the NCA. This petroglyph site is a sacred spiritual location for Native Americans all over the southwest. Sloan Canyon also provides much needed respite from the lights and buildings of Las Vegas Valley.

This is a beautiful low Mojave Desert area which offers extensive opportunities for hiking and education and is home to numerous Mohave Desert species such as Bighorn Sheep, Gila Monster, Chuckwalla and Red Tailed Hawk. But the canyon faces a number of threats. The threat of vandalism and theft of valuable petroglyphs continues. And while there is currently a ban on ORV use, the lack of enforcement resources allows for abuse and misuse by ORV users.

By far the largest threat is a proposed heliport to be constructed and operated adjacent to the NCA. Clark County, Nevada has proposed a heliport for tourist flights to the Hualapi Indian Reservation (Grand Canyon) in Arizona.

If approved, ninety round trip flights per day will be routed directly over the NCA at a height of only 500 to 1,000 feet — substantially lower than the current 3,500 foot height of flights over residential areas. The noise associated with these low level fights will shatter the solitude of this desert NCA, of which the North McCullough Wilderness is a part, and harass the wildlife native to the area.

The Southern Nevada Group of the Sierra Club, Friends of Sloan Canyon, Friends of Nevada Wilderness and other conservation groups have been actively fighting this heliport, urging County Commissioners to consider alternate locations for the heliport or to reroute the flights to travel south of the NCA, over an existing power corridor. A decision on the proposed heliport is expected this year.

To help us protect Sloan Canyon, contact Tara Smith at 702 732 7750 or tara.smith@sierraclub.org.