Nevadans for Cultural Preservation

A Mural in a Vault Toilet? Why Not!

Yes, you read that right—there's now a vibrant mural inside the vault toilet at Mt. Irish Campground!

This unexpected art installation is the handiwork of NVFCP President Katie Hoffman and her college-aged kiddo, who teamed up to brighten up the bathroom with a splash of local color—literally. The mural features a lively array of native plants and animals, all of which are also highlighted on interpretive panels set to be installed this fall along the connected 1.5-mile trail.

The mural, titled "Morning View," draws inspiration from the quiet, wild beauty of waking up at the campground. It’s tough to capture in a photo just how immersive and delightful the scene is when viewed from the “throne”—you really have to experience it for yourself!

As you take a seat, see if you can spot all the featured flora and fauna: the elusive pinyon jay, the quick-footed black-tailed jackrabbit, the antelope ground squirrel, graceful mule deer, blooming blackbrush, and the iconic single-leaf pinyon pine.

Pro tip: The mule deer won’t reveal itself right away—it’s only visible after you enter and turn to face the exit. Just one of the mural’s playful surprises!

So next time you're at Mt. Irish, don't just pass by the restroom—step inside and enjoy this one-of-a-kind wilderness gallery!

June 2025

NVFCP was thrilled to join the party at the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Basin & Range National Monument—and what a celebration it was! There was an awesome turnout and the event doubled as a BioBlitz, where citizen scientists teamed up with experts of every -ology (think ecology, biology, botany—you name it!) to document the incredible biodiversity of the monument.

By day, teams spread out across the landscape spotting, recording, and sampling everything from wildflowers to wildlife. Lizards were skillfully wrangled with special poles and snakes made surprise appearances along the roads. By night, things got even more exciting! Traps were set for small mammals and bats were netted at watering holes.

All this data wasn’t just for fun (though it was a blast)—scientists also took measurements, samples, and notes to help answer real research questions about the monument’s ecosystems. Nearly 1,000 observations and 268 species were logged into iNaturalist. Not bad for a weekend’s work!

The heart of the action was Mt. Irish Campground, nestled within the stunning 640-acre Mt. Irish Archaeological District just west of Hiko, NV. On day one, NVFCP kicked things off with a cultural resource preservation briefing to make sure everyone knew how to explore responsibly. We also set up an outreach booth featuring local artifacts, sparking curiosity and encouraging volunteers to check out some of Lincoln County’s incredible public rock writing sites.

Nature, science, archaeology, and a little adventure—now that’s our kind of celebration!

June 2025

On a wild and stormy June day, the NVFCP team—joined by one of our awesome trained volunteers—braved the weather to meet up with the U.S. Forest Service at a scenic overlook on Mt. Charleston. Why? To tackle some unwelcome “artwork” left behind by a vandal who had gone rogue with a Sharpie on the concrete benches.

Turns out, their crew had already tried scrubbing it off with little success. So, we rolled up our sleeves and set up a mini field lab right there on the overlook—testing out a few of our trusty materials to see what might do the trick.

While we were experimenting with the graffiti on the benches, we had a win: one of our products worked wonders on the vandalism covering the metal fencing and signage posts nearby. Goodbye, Tagging!

After about an hour of scrubbing (and a bit of battling the wind), we made serious progress on the benches too. The Forest Service was impressed and plans to stock up on the products we used so they can keep the cleanup going.

We’re always happy to support our partners—and just a reminder, this was not a cultural site, and all necessary permissions were secured before we got to work!

May 2025

Over the course of three days, nearly 200 Lincoln County students in grades 3–6 participated in guided tours of the Mt. Irish Archaeological District. Led by Alicia Styles, Basin and Range National Monument Manager, and Rayette Martin, Executive Director of Nevadans for Cultural Preservation (NVFCP), students explored two major petroglyph sites during engaging walking tours. On-site experts—including range specialists, biologists, and others—were available to answer questions and share insights throughout the visit.

Each group hiked a portion of the new 1.5-mile trail that loops from the primitive campground through the archaeological sites. After the hike, students returned to the campground for lunch and hands-on learning experiences. These included opportunities to explore cultural artifacts, examine animal skulls and pelts, interact with insect displays, and more.

As part of the experience, students reflected by writing down one thing they learned and one thing they wanted to learn more about. Two notable examples:

“I learned that leaving artifacts where they are is really important.”
“I want to learn the petroglyph stories.”

May 2025

Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) Sean Scruggs, of the Fort Independence Tribe of Paiute Indians, provided attendees with an insightful overview of the role of THPOs. He emphasized the importance of Tribal Cultural Sovereignty and the need for the public to better understand the deep connection between tribes, the land, and the natural world. This understanding is essential to effectively monitor, respect, and protect sacred sites from looting and unnecessary destruction.

Please note that this was an open Microsoft Teams Meeting with public discussion, and as such, the presentation was not recorded. We hope you were able to join us!

April 2025

Volunteers joined NVFCP and a representative from Howard Hughes Corporation to clean up light trash and test the online reporting system for stewarding the important cultural area known as Little Red Rock. Since 2022, NVFCP has been helping to manage this area and we are happy to expand our coverage to all of the rocky outcrops, not just those with petroglyphs and pictographs. The entire area is an unofficial archaeological district and deserves to be stewarded and kept free from human damages. 

We were glad we explored new areas because we found over 20 pallets at a few different spots all ready to be burned over the Easter weekend. Howard Hughes Corporation made sure to remove them all as quickly as possible. 

NVFCP and our lands are so lucky to have volunteers who care enough to sacrifice their Sunday morning to picking up garbage and hunt for human damages. 

April 2025

Jake Hickerson, Archaeologist Bureau of Land Management - Basin and Range National Monument

The Lincoln County Archaeological Initiative (LCAI) was established in 2006 to fund projects for the inventory, evaluation, protection, and management of unique cultural resources in Lincoln County, Nevada. Between 2006 and 2025, LCAI has funded over $12 Million for 84 individual projects. This talk covers the development of the grant funding initiative and explores some of the results of recent projects.

NVFCP has created a preliminary online resources guide for Lincoln County Archaeology. This is covered in the presentation and can be accessed here.

Watch a video of this presentation on our YouTube Channel here!

April 2025

NVFCP had an outreach booth at this year's Sunrise Library "Get Lost In Nevada" event. There were a number of outreach booths with information geared toward sharing the love of Nevada's outdoors. There were even burros which attracted many folks. 

Our replica petroglyph and pictograph panel was well received. Booth attendees understood why we don't mark on rocks and why we don't touch these amazing cultural resources. 

Many folks don't have the means to get out to see cultural sites so we had a handout with links to virtual site visits. 

We have received a LCAI grant for 2025-2027 to:

• Provide educational outreach at four events a year
• Host two guest lectures or workshops a year
• Create a brochure that consolidates all the amazing resources like virtual site visits for the public
• Review archaeological sites along the Silver State Trail for interpretation and signage

We are working closely with the Bureau of Land Management and partnering with the Nevada Site Stewardship Program, Nevada State Parks, and the Lincoln County Authority of Tourism. We look forward to networking and collaboration with more local entities as time goes on.

Lincoln County Photos