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Clark County Wetlands Park
preserves and enhances natural and cultural resources and provides educational, recreational, and research opportunities for the public.
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Welcome to the new E-version of the Wetlands Park Footprints Newsletter!
It's the same newsletter streamlined to make it easier to read online, manage your subscription, and share with your friends. Let us know what you think.
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 Wetlands Park Raccoon
This adorable raccoon was found in the Park near Wetlands Park Lane already deceased. She will be supporting the Park for many years to come through Park programs and events in the form of interpretive education for children and adults.
According to Liz Bickmore, Senior Park Administrator, "We are excited to kick-off the fall with our raccoon naming contest. It's a fun way for our visitors to connect with the Park and this unique nocturnal creature, which they may not see during their daytime visit. Raccoons are common in the Park, but typically, you only see footprints, scat, or crayfish shells."
Take part in our naming contest! Please submit your name suggestion for the Wetlands Park raccoon by 5 pm, October 9, 2020. The winner will receive a raccoon stuffed animal.
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A Day in the life of a Raccoon
Sleep, forage, eat, and repeat! Not much going on during the day other than resting, but just wait and see what happens when the sun goes down! Once it does, these mammals spend most of their time foraging and feeding.
Emerging at dusk, they begin to hunt frogs and crustaceans along creeks, all while keeping an eye out for predators, such as coyotes. Here in the Park they may find a delicious crayfish to crunch on. This ringed tail animal can even stand on its hind legs to examine objects with its extremely dexterous and hyper-sensitive front paws.
The raccoon always wears a facial mask. It’s even visible on newly born kits. Similar to a football player who wears black under their eye, it reduces glare and enhances night vision.
After eating and foraging all night, it is time to find safety in one of their many dens, then repeat! It’s just a typical day in the life of a raccoon.
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 Spooky Maze at Wetlands Park photo by David Walker
Wetlands Park will be offering an outdoor, fall themed activity during the entire month of October. A generous donation from Wetlands Park Friends is helping to make this possible. The reed maze in the Wetlands Park Nature Preserve will transform into a Spooky Maze and Story Walk. Social distancing and face coverings are required as you never know who might be around the next turn. The Spooky Maze will be open during Park hours, dawn to dusk every day. Come explore!
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With safety in mind, we will be offering limited programs this fall. All programs are outdoors. Social distancing and face coverings will be required by all participants. Space is limited and advanced signup is required. Click here for more details and to register.
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GUIDED WALKS: Join a nature guide for a themed walk to experience Wetlands Park in an inspiring and entertaining way. Walks include Birding with Red Rock Audubon, a Butterfly Walk at the Nature Preserve, an Osprey walk at the Wells Trailhead, and more. |
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WETLANDS PARK SAFARI TOURS: Enjoy an Introduction to the Wetlands Park Nature Preserve from the comfort of our Safari Touring Cart! You will learn about the history and wildlife of Wetlands Park and visit scenic overlooks of the Las Vegas Wash.
Limited to one family group of up to four per tour.
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 Wetlands Watcher on the trails at Wetlands Park
Be the Eyes and Ears of Wetlands Park
Finding ways to give back during the pandemic can be challenging. While several of the volunteer functions at Wetlands Park have been suspended this year due to COVID-19, the Wetland Watch program is still going strong. The Program is a way for volunteers to monitor park conditions and report back to staff.
Wetlands Watch volunteers visit the Park, walk or bike the trails, clean up graffiti, pick up litter, assist visitors, and help to keep the Park safe and looking good for all our visitors. The volunteers act as stewards and leaders for the community. In fact, our Watch Volunteers have been known to model good stewardship behaviors and have even witnessed park visitors following suit and picking up litter they find along the trails too!
Having extra eyes and ears out in the Park is an essential service to not only the visitors, but to park staff as well. At 2,900 acres, the Wetlands Park is simply too large of an area for our small staff to be able to monitor and maintain without help. If you are interested in learning more about the Wetlands Watch program, check out our website at volunteer.ccwetlandspark.com and/or fill out this form to sign up for the next Get Involved at the Wetlands Park online information class.
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Wetlands Walkers on the Move
Walking is good for one's physical and mental health, and a walk in nature is even better! Wetlands Walkers, a group of health and nature-oriented individuals, track their miles whenever they walk Park trails and earn rewards at various milestones. As a group, their mileage is tallied to reach a yearly goal matching the migration distance of one of the Park's visiting species. In 2020 the Walkers are recognizing the Painted Lady Butterfly and have a collective goal of trekking 3,500 miles. To date, the Walkers have traveled 3,599 miles reaching our initial goal! Way to go Walkers! With the temperature dropping, there will be plenty of comfortable days to get outside and walk in the Park. Let's see if we can do it again. Can we collectively reach 7,000 miles? Join Wetlands Walkers to make it happen.
To learn more about the Wetlands Walkers program, the Painted Lady Butterfly, to sign up, or to log your miles, please visit our website.
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