Benjamin Spillman

bspillman@rgj.com

Nearly 30 miles of river that’s been largely locked away from the public could become a jewel of Nevada’s state parks system.

It’s one of two new parks included in the budget proposal by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, who announced the plans Tuesday in his State of the State address.

Walker River site

The proposed Walker River State Recreation area would be created on three former ranch properties totaling 12,000 acres into a state park with camping, fishing and hiking.

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And it would provide public access to 28 miles of the East Walker River that’s been in private hands for decades.

“I believe the acquisition of these historic ranches is a generational opportunity for Nevada,” Sandoval said in a written statement issued before the speech. “The recreational opportunities on the ranch land and along the East Walker River are phenomenal.”

Tule Springs site

The governor’s budget also includes a proposal to use state land near North Las Vegas to create the Tule Springs State Park.

That park would cover 315 acres where scientists have discovered a wide variety of Ice Age animals such as mammoths, camels, bison, horses, sloth and Dire wolves.

The park is on state land that’s surrounded by the recently created Tule Springs Fossil Bed National Monument, which is managed by the National Park Service.

“The new Tule Springs National Park in North Las Vegas is rich with Ice Age fossils and great opportunities to learn about prehistoric Nevada,” Sandoval said.

Plans for other parks

The two new parks are part of a $15 million boost Sandoval wants to provide the state park system.

The entire proposal would include new, full-hookup campsites at seven existing parks, pull-through campsites at 10 existing parks, wifi-enabled campgrounds and hotspots at eight parks, cabins at Wild Horse State Recreation Area and state park staff presence at Van Sickle Bi-State Park near Lake Tahoe. There are also plans to preserve the historic structures at Ft. Churchill State Park.

Sandoval is calling it the Explore Your Nevada initiative and it is aimed at modernizing the Nevada Division of State Parks to make it more relevant in the outdoor recreation marketplace.

First new parks since '96

The Tule Springs and Walker Basin parks would be the first major new state parks in Nevada since Big Bend of the Colorado was added in 1996. In 2005 the state added the Elgin Schoolhouse, south of Kershaw-Ryan State Park in Rainbow Canyon, to the system.

The Walker River State Recreation Area would be a combination of the former Pitchfork, Rafter 7 and Flying M ranches in Lyon and Mineral counties south of Yerington and on the west side of the Wassuk Range.

The properties, valued at about $8 million, would be donated to the state by the Walker Basin Restoration Program.

The restoration program acquired them last year after the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation acquired them from private owners for $19.4 million. The difference between the foundation’s price and the state’s value amounts to the value of the water rights, which would stay in the foundation’s hands.

The foundation is seeking to use the water rights to keep water moving through the river to Walker Lake to the east, which is beset by dwindling inflows and rising salinity.

The foundation, according to state parks administrator Eric Johnson, would cover the cost of reclaiming land that was once used for cultivation in order for it to be converted to a more natural state to best serve the future park and the health of the river.

The ranch, sometimes referred to as the Hilton Ranch for former owner Barron Hilton, was the point of departure for the final flight of aviator Steve Fossett on September 3, 2007.

Fossett, flying in a single-engine, two-seat Super Decathlon aircraft, disappeared, prompting a massive search and rescue effort.

Parts of the aircraft and bone fragments were found in October, 2008, near Mammoth Lakes, Calif.

The Flying M was also the site of two-week “soaring camps” for winners of the Barron Hilton Cup, a glider competition that ran from 1980 through 2009 and included some of the world’s best glider pilots.

Hilton is the son of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton. The younger Hilton founded the San Diego Chargers professional football team and was known as an aviation fanatic.

Hilton retains a life-lease allowing him to occupy the ranch home.

Prior to Hilton’s purchase in the mid-1960s it was owned by Stanfield Murphy of San Francisco, according to an article in Airport Journals.

Since Hilton purchased it and turned it into an aviators’ playground, the guest list has included astronaut Alan Shepherd, former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth, actor Cliff Robertson and performer John Denver.

Johnson said the river is well preserved with stable banks and overhead shade that is important for trout habitat.

In addition to trout fishing, the river and surrounding area supports upland birds such as quail and chukar, deer, antelope and bighorn sheep. If the governor’s budget is approved state parks could have some projects at the northern end of the complex completed and ready for public use by the fall of this year.

Johnson said Walker River Basin Recreation Area would become the state park with the most river-based habitat and recreation opportunities within the system.

“There has never been anything of this magnitude in the state parks’ history,” he said. “It is the river miles that are quite remarkable.”

Correction: The list of recent state parks should have included Dangberg Ranch Historic Park which was added to the state system in 2003 and removed in 2011.