Discover Mojave Outdoor World Activity Unit Curriculum

This document provides suggested activity outlines for each recreational unit as well as available resources, pertinent contacts, checklists, and activity assessments. Each unit is correlated with the themes identified by the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Conservation Education and Interpretation Team. The Discover Mojave Outdoor World program introduces urban youth, ages 8-12, to outdoor recreation and environmental education. The program promotes the belief that outdoor recreation plays an important and positive role in the health and fitness of America’s youth. The program is patterned after the national Wonderful Outdoor World (WOW) program. WOW introduces urban youth and families to the outdoors and outdoor recreation through overnight camping experiences within the heart of their own community. With this approach, the program seeks to bring the excitement of camping and the environment directly into the neighborhoods and communities of the children most in need

Explorations in Off-Higway Vehicle (OHV) Recreation: a High School Driver Education Extension

The lessons within this curriculum have been designed to meet the following goals: ● To increase knowledge about the natural world OHV recreationists will encounter in their exploration of Southern Nevada; ● To increase knowledge of responsible use of OHVs and principles of Tread Lightly! and Leave No Trace (both are nonprofit organizations dedicated to increasing awareness about how to minimize impacts while enjoying public and private lands); ● To increase awareness, knowledge, and understanding of land ethics; ● To allow youth to analyze personal values regarding recreational experiences, including OHV use

Interagency Science and Research: Final Project Report

The major accomplishment of this project was the development of the SNAP Science and Research Strategy: an 11-chapter document designed to integrate and coordinate scientific research programs in Southern Nevada and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these programs. The Strategy is intended to inform and guide SNAP agencies in identifying and articulating highest priority science and research needs, sharing resources and funds from other sources, and eliminating redundancy between research programs within their focus areas. The major focus areas of the Strategy are Fire, Invasive Species, Watersheds and Landscapes, Biodiversity, Cultural Resources, Historic Content, Recreation, Land Use, and Education. The Strategy was approved by the SNAP Board in March 2009

A standardized design for quagga mussel monitoring in Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona

The discovery of quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) in Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, on January 6, 2007 is the first known occurrence of dreissenid species in the western United States. This study developed elements of a cost-effective and standardized quagga mussel-monitoring program for Lake Mead using preliminary data to arrive at statistically based numbers of sampling sites. To represent the abundance of adult/juvenile quagga mussels in Lake Mead’s heterogeneous floor with 95% confidence, a stratified simple random sampling design revealed a requirement of 41 samples from hard substrates (i.e., rocky areas) and 97 samples from soft substrates (i.e., sandy and muddy areas). A simple random sampling design demonstrated that 42 samples from the lake’s water column are necessary to represent veliger abundance with 95% confidence. Other important elements of the sampling program, such as standardization of protocols and processes and suggested data analyses, are discussed. The monitoring program, which is based on reconnaissance data, is intended to be optimized with data from its first year’s samples. The sample number-selection approach and the other elements of this plan can be easily implemented by lake managers and can also be adapted to other locations where dreissenid mussel monitoring is needed

Interagency monitoring action plan (I-MAP) for quagga mussels in Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, USA

Following the discovery of quagga mussels in Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, USA, a variety of federal, state and regional agencies set up monitoring programs to evaluate and gain information to help minimize the impacts, or potential impacts, of quagga mussels to their facilities and lake ecology. While the agencies have worked closely and shared monitoring data and findings from the beginning of the infestation, there has been no documented comprehensive monitoring program to describe and record the various quagga mussel-related monitoring needs. Ad hoc interagency quagga mussel meeting representatives established an Interagency Monitoring Action Plan (I-MAP), which outlines agency objectives related to quagga mussel monitoring and provides approaches to realize these objectives. I-MAP team members and their respective agencies provide technical, logistical, and financial support in monitoring quagga mussels and their environmental impacts to Lake Mead. The goal of this effort is to develop a long-term, cost-effective, and consistent monitoring plan for quagga mussels in Lake Mead to inform various agencies and to gain efficiencies from shared operations and information. The plan attempts to build upon current monitoring activities and capabilities, identifies the next steps that can occur within existing capabilities and, finally, outlines gaps and areas of future need

Discover Mojave Forever Earth Curriculum

The Discover Mojave Forever Earth program is more than a field trip to Lake Mead National Recreation Area (NRA). The program takes place aboard the Forever Earth, a floating environmental learning center. It is designed to give students the rare opportunity to study different facets of water in the desert—such as its characteristics and quality, the species that rely on it, its ability to change a landscape, and much more. This educational experience complements traditional classroom studies with engaging, participatory, on-site activities and support lessons based upon a solid framework for inquiry and discovery. On-site activities and the supporting lessons described herein align with Clark County School District curriculum and are correlated to Nevada State Science Standards and Clark County School District Curriculum Essentials Framework and Science Objectives. Pre-visit lessons prepare students for their trip, introducing important background concepts, key questions, and themes. Post-visit lessons follow up on and reinforce the on-site learning, and more importantly, encourage “big-picture” synthesis and options for stewardship

A synthesis of aquatic science for management of Lakes Mead and Mohave: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1381

Lake Mead provides many significant benefits that have made the modern development of the southwestern United States possible. The lake also provides important aquatic habitat for a wide variety of wildlife including endangered species, and a diversity of world-class water based recreational opportunities for more than 8 million visitors annually. It is one of the most extensively used and intensively monitored reservoirs in the United States. The largest reservoir by volume in the United States, it supplies critical storage of water supplies for more than 25 million people in three western states (California, Arizona, and Nevada). Storage within Lake Mead supplies drinking water and the hydropower to provide electricity for major cities including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Tucson, and San Diego, and irrigation of greater than 2.5 million acres of croplands. Due to the importance of Lake Mead, multiple agencies are actively involved in its monitoring and research. These agencies have a long history of collaboration in the assessment of water quality, water-dependent resources, and ecosystem health. In 2004, the National Park Service obtained funds from the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act to enhance this partnership and expand monitoring and research efforts to increase the overall understanding of Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. Participating agencies included the National Park Service, Southern Nevada Water Authority, U.S. Geological Survey, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and University of Nevada, Reno. Results of these important efforts have been presented in Lake Mead Science Symposia conducted in 2009 and 2012. The relationships forged by the collaboration led to the development in 2012 of the Lake Mead Ecosystem Monitoring (LaMEM) Work Group, which has formalized the partnership and documented an interagency purpose and mission statement with common objectives for protection of Lake Mead and Lake Mohave water quality and water-dependent resources. This Circular has been developed to summarize the state of the knowledge related to the interests and objectives of the LaMEM Work Group, to inform management and the public of current lake conditions, and identify future needs for monitoring and research. It is hoped that this report will provide a framework for continued long-term investigations and analysis of the environmental health of Lakes Mead and Mohave