Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity”
The Brett Torino Foundation launched the “Save Lovell Canyon” initiative in 2017. In the years prior to the environmental effort, off-road vehicles, guns and explosives had caused great damage to the terrain and drove away the hikers, runners, cyclists, campers, and horseback riders. Trees were being used as shooting targets, and the land became polluted with toxic bullet casings and trash. The littering and destruction had also led to several man-made fires that ravaged the area.
In an effort to improve the safety and habitat of this scenic gem, Torino brought together a task force of influential partners such as the Forest Service, BLM, Clark County Commission, Las Vegas Metro Police Department, Sierra Club, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, Save Red Rock, Get Outdoors Nevada, and many others to come up with a plan to curb rampant dumping, off-roading and illegal shooting which had badly damaged the area.
The Lovell Canyon Clean Up was a tremendous success. We had between 75-100 people picking up trash in the area, which filled an entire extra-large dumpster with furniture, mattresses, a water heater, and tons of glass, cans, bottles and other waste.
The Torino Foundation paid for and organized a series of cleanup events, removed grafitti, and purchased new road signs to replace the bullet riddled, grafitti marked /laden signs which evoked/signaled/perpetuated further violations/crimes to the canyon. The multi-faceted campaign transformed Lovell Canyon from a crime ridden, neglected, toxic dump site to a thriving lush oasis which is enjoyed by hikers, bikers, and families camping in the majestic and cooler high elevations of Lovell Canyon. Eventually, and in their most significant win of the campaign, they obtained legislation to ban target shooting in Lovell Canyon. Las Vegas Metro Police task force members increased patrolling and ticketing in the area for those who were illegally shooting, dumping and riding ATVs in the Toiyabe National Forest land which makes up Lovell Canyon.
Extreme drought has been threatening the health of Red Rock Canyon and the Spring Mountain area for decades. That’s why The Brett Torino Foundation is proud to be a supporter and partner with Save Red Rock and Desert Research Institute (DRI) in its “Make It Rain” cloud seeding campaign.
In addition to supporting water conservation, the foundation was the site and event sponsor of Save Red Rock’s first ever fundraiser to help increase the amount of precipitation in the area.
Cloud seeding is used all over the world as a method for enhancing winter snowfall and increasing mountain snowpack, supplementing the natural water supply available to ecosystems of the surrounding area. DRI has been pioneering winter cloud seeding programs since the early 1960s with a potential precipitation increase of 10-15 percent per season, and a safe and non-toxic method of seeding.
To learn more about Make It Rain, visit the Save Red Rock website:
