Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space secures $4.3M in grants for trails, wetland protection
The Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space division have secured $4.3 million in grant funding on two projects in East Carson City.
According to Carson City Parks and Recreation Open Space Manager Lydnsey Boyer, the first grant received was in the amount of $2.4 million for the Prison Hill West trail.
The most recent trail expansion Parks and Rec undertook was the Prison Hill East trail, which created a trail system from the 5th Street Trailhead to Silver Saddle Ranch.
This new system would continue on that effort and connect the prison hill trail systems.
“We’re trying to get around the entirety of Prison Hill,” said Boyer.
The Prison Hill West trail would include a new public restroom, a picnic shelter, expanded parking for more vehicles, fencing, and fixing drainage issues, said Boyer.
Like Prison Hill East, the trail would also be updated to a multi-use path that does not allow any motorized traffic.
“The goal with Prison Hill is to push all vehicles to the south end,” said Boyer. The north, west and east portions of Prison Hill will have no motorized vehicles allowed once they are completed.
The timeframe for the grant is five years; Boyer says that, based on the prior Prison Hill project, it will probably take two to three years for construction to begin.
The second grant secured $1.9 million for a water rights acquisition for the Buzzy’s Ranch Open Space property.
“When the city acquired portions of the property in 2007 and 2010 with some grant funds and some Question 18 dollars, it was not enough to purchase the water rights,” said Boyer.
Since that time, the original owners of the property have retained the water rights.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to work with them for our needs,” said Boyer.
However, the city wants to be more independent, and have purchased the water rights with the grant to hold in perpetuity.
“It’s not everything needed for the property, but it’s a start,” said Boyer.
The city will be applying those water rights to the west side of the property in order to protect the bird habitat within the wetland area.
This is the first time the city has ever specifically acquired water rights for a property.
“It’s another step in preserving and protecting the property,” said Boyer. “I love that it has the wildlife and the bird component so we can continue protecting those spaces.”
Both grants are funded through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, or SNPLMA.
“(SNPLMA) is a really awesome grant source which funded the previous Prison Hill Trail,” said Boyer.
Parks and Rec also have their sights set ahead for future improvements as well.
They’ve submitted a grant to SNPLMA for the River View Park Trailhead renovation, but they won’t know for another year whether or not that grant will be awarded.
“That’s another phase in the Carson River, Prison Hill trail system, to get that trailhead system up to date,” said Boyer. “It’s one of our busiest trailheads.”
Those improvements would include adding additional parking, redoing the layout of the trailhead, and adding a new restroom.
“We’re really excited to be putting our time and effort into not only adding these trails, but redoing these trailheads and adding amenities for the public,” said Boyer. “That’s going to be an ongoing theme with Open Space and Parks: reinvesting in some of our infrastructure and utilizing grant sources.”