Graffiti, vandalism tarnish tranquility of Sunrise Trailhead

Perhaps it's the remoteness of the location that draws visitors to Sunrise Trailhead. It was designed to accommodate picnickers, hikers and horseback riders, with parking specially designed for horse trailers. But what it seems to attract lately is vandals.

"Graffiti and vandalism is a huge problem in the county," said Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa. "We spend a large amount of money and resources dealing with it. You have to. If you don't clean it up, it tends to attract more."

Sunrise Trailhead is part of the Clark County Wetlands Park, but it is on the edge of the park, at the lonely southern end of Hollywood Boulevard. Only one paved road leads to it, with the nearest cross street 5 miles north. A web of maintained dirt roads lead toward Lake Las Vegas and backcountry areas, but for many vehicles, it is at the end of a long, dead-end road, with no habitation within earshot or even sight.

The remote location makes it a particularly easy target for people whose idea of entertainment includes graffiti, breaking glass and setting fire to park amenities, and in at least one case, a car. The trailhead is currently closed to the public and has been several times in the last few years.

"People have been burning the fence posts, the trees, the bathrooms and more," said Elizabeth Bickmore, the newly appointed program administrator at the Clark County Wetlands Park, 7050 Wetlands Park Lane. "It's a shame, because responsible people can't come out and use the facility."

Bickmore said that when she first visited the trailhead a few weeks ago, it was still open, but she had been warned that it was a problematic location.

"There was a family out here playing with their remote control car," she said. "This can be a lovely place."

Bickmore said that since April 2014, $22,000 has been spent to clean up the area around Sunrise Trailhead. There is also a monthly program that brings volunteers out to clean up the area, but within days, the park staff finds the area has fresh graffiti, broken beer bottles and burned truck tires.

"The police came out at least once and made arrests and picked up some people with warrants," Bickmore said.

A series of calls to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Clark County Park Police representatives made it clear that jurisdiction of the trailhead is fuzzy at best, although Bickmore said she was assured by a member of Metro's community programs division that the Southeast Area Command would put the park into its daily briefings, which she hoped would lead to more Metro patrols in the area.

Pappa said that the park isn't patrolled by the park police, which spends its limited resources on more populated parks.

"It's a small force, so they patrol places like Sunset Park," Pappa said. "They rely on Metro for a lot of the parks."

The park is bordered by Bureau of Land Management land, and there are patches of Bureau of Reclamation land nearby.

"They're all important partners," Bickmore said. "We all work together on this."

The trailhead will probably remain closed until at least September, but community members can help by volunteering at the park in several ways. The Wetlands Park has Hands On! community stewardship events on the second Saturday of the month from September to May in which volunteers can help clean up parks and repair trails. The park has a small staff and relies on volunteers to conduct many of its programs and events.

"We have an extensive formal volunteer program at the Wetlands Park," Bickmore said. "We are always looking for more volunteers, and there are several opportunities, including Wetlands Watch volunteers, who explore the trails, interact with visitors and report items of interest; education facilitators that lead school groups and other tours; visitor information hosts that provide information to visitors about the park and our programs, and other volunteer positions.

Email wetlands@clarkcountynv.gov, call 702-455-7522 or visit clarkcountynv.gov.

— To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor, email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.