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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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Thank you for subscribing to Wetlands Park Footprints newsletter. Share with your friends and let us know what you think at wetlands@clarkcountynv.gov.
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   Photos ©Wetlands
Get lost in our Spooky Maze and Story Walk available now through Halloween during daylight hours. Embark on this spooky self-guided story walk through our reed maze and then answer a question at the Exhibit Gallery for a chance to win a prize. The Exhibit Gallery is open Tuesday-Sunday, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
The month ends with our annual family-friendly Halloween event, Haunt the Wetlands, on Friday, October 24 from 4 pm - 8 pm. Brave the Haunted Maze, walk among the Creatures of the Night, encounter live Creepy Crawly Critters, and explore a Mad Scientist's Lair, if you dare. Discover the Exhibit Gallery, acquire a face painting, and shop the Nature Store. Tasty tacos available for purchase from Abuela's Tacos. Participants are encouraged to wear costumes. Please note that this is not a trick-or-treating event.
Tickets are required and are available for purchase online at events.ccwetlandspark.com, at the Nature Store, or in-person the day of the event. Tickets are non-refundable. Kids ages 0-3 are free! Save money and get your ticket in advance for only $6! Tickets are $10 the day of the event. Purchase them now before they disappear!
Special thanks to our event partners:
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 People mingling during the reception on September 6th. Photo ©Wetlands
Animals are a source of inspiration for many artists as they offer a direct connection to nature. Wetlands Park's 4th Annual Juried Show, In the Company of Animals, celebrates the presence animals bring to the wetlands and other environments: their natural grace, wisdom, and connection to place. Whether capturing the patient stillness of a Great Blue Heron or the quiet intelligence behind a Coyote's gaze, this show invites artists to explore what animals teach us simply by being themselves.
Visit the Spotlight on Nature Gallery (SONG) located in the Exhibit Gallery of the Nature Center now through November 1 for a chance to see the works of 31 southern Nevada artists. To view a list of participating artists, please click here to download the list.
Juror Sean Russell presented the following awards at the art exhibit reception on September 6.
Best in Show: Tribute to the Mountain Cottontail, Amber Indurante
Honorable Mention: Father and Son, Casey Southard
Honorable Mention: Ana and Antoni, Stasia Fisher
Honorable Mention: Three Graces, Thomas Larson
About the Juror
Sean Russell earned his M.F.A. in Painting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2005 and has been a Professor at the College of Southern Nevada since 2008. At CSN, Russell teaches various art and art history courses as well as serves as the Program Coordinator for the Art Program. He has taken part in a variety of regional and national art exhibits and created numerous public art projects. Russell has been visiting the Clark County Wetlands Park for over 15 years, and the creatures of the Las Vegas Wash system are often subject matter in his artwork. Currently his work can be seen touring the United States as part of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum’s Birds in Art 2024 traveling exhibition. He currently lives in Las Vegas, NV, not far from Clark County Wetlands Park.
Visit Sean online:
https://www.seandavidrussell.com/
https://www.instagram.com/chili_river/
 "View from Wetlands Trail" by Stasia Valora Fisher.
Wetlands Park is pleased to present The Wetlands Trails: In Memoriam of Dina, an art exhibit by Stasia Valora Fisher now on display in The Nest gallery located in the Information Kiosk of the Nature Center. Fisher is a visual artist from Las Vegas and has had artwork featured in both regional and international gallery exhibitions. Her artwork has extended into the public art through her murals infusing the urban landscape with a vision of joy and vitality.
"My artwork reflects on long strolls at Wetlands trails, with my companion dog Dina. Through bittersweet melodies of life, I hope to capture the essence of moments of tranquility, balance and joy that Dina and I experienced at Wetlands. I feel grateful to exhibit at the park that gave me the dearest memories."
Photo (bottom left): Portrait drawing of Dina by Stasia Valora Fisher.
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Wetlands Park 2025 Artist in Residence (AiR), Megan Heeres, has completed her final project. The AiR program enables a local artist each spring to explore and interpret the natural and cultural resources at Wetlands Park. Aritists lead workshops, interact with visitors during open studio hours, and create artwork based on their research in the Park. Visit our website for more information about the Artist in Residence program and Megan's biography. Click here to download and read the artist's description of the art piece titled "Filtering Findings".
 Please check the Art at Wetlands Park webpage after October 15 for submission instructions and links.
Stay Up to Date with Art News at Wetlands Park
Click here to subscribe to our art email list to receive notices of calls for art, scheduled exhibitions, and other art news at Clark County Wetlands Park.
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 Wetlands Park volunteer, Laura Eisenberg, posing for photo among lush vegetation in the Nature Preserve of Wetlands Park. Photo ©Wetlands KP.
We are grateful to our volunteers and their gift of service. Together they form a powerful force of good and make a difference at Wetlands Park. Laura Eisenberg is one such volunteer. We were able to catch up with Laura and ask her about her experience as a volunteer at Wetlands Park.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. I am a horticulturist and an arborist. I appreciate the Park for all its plants; I want to learn them all. I enjoy taking part in projects that involve maintaining and surveying the plants of the Park. Wherever I go, I never stop being a horticulturist, which is why the Park is special to me.
How long have you been volunteering at Wetlands Park? Since August 2023.
How did you come to volunteer at the Wetlands? I was meeting a friend for a walk at the Park when she told me that she unfortunately could no longer make it because she was sick. I thought to myself, “I am already here, might as well take a walk.” Along the way, I ran into a staff member that was working at the Boardwalk Pond trying to capture domestic bunnies that someone had dumped in the Park. After she and I became acquainted with each other, she expressed that I would be a great addition to the team as a volunteer and introduced me to the volunteer coordinator that day. I left the Park with all the necessary materials to start my onboarding process as a Wetlands Park volunteer.
What kinds of things do you do during a typical volunteer shift at Wetlands Park as a Wetlands Park Trailkeeper? I am always out on a mission whether it’s participating in a citizen science project like surveying Screwbean Mesquite trees, planting native trees and plants, removing invasive plants like tamarisk, or cleaning a trail which is why I always have my litter picker with me. Any project that involves maintaining a part of the Park, planting or surveying, I’m on it!
Why do you like volunteering at Wetlands Park? I like volunteering for several reasons. I like expanding my knowledge of plants and being involved in planting projects. I experience firsthand how different plants respond to change and share this knowledge with my peers, colleagues, and students.
As a Wetlands Park Trailkeeper, I like to keep places clean and appreciate that the Park is preserving wilderness as much as possible in a place that is so engineered. With the Park being 2,900 acres, it’s challenging for staff to always manage the Park. Volunteers like me act as scouts and are the eyes and ears on their behalf. It is rewarding to work with a team that is just as passionate about maintaining the Park and understanding the value volunteers bring to a site.
What advice would you give someone interested in volunteering at Wetlands Park? Get signed up and do it! Whenever I meet new visitors, I share with them what I do as a Wetlands Park volunteer and tell them about the different roles the Park offers.
What is your favorite spot in Wetlands Park? It depends on what I’m doing. However, I do love going to Wells Trailhead and walking the trail that is closest to the Las Vegas Wash. The diversity of flora is extraordinary. As you go higher in elevation, you observe plants of the dry desert, but as you go closer to the water, the vegetation completely transforms. I find myself visiting the same trails to familiarize myself with the plants and observe how they respond to various changes.
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Volunteers Needed! Wetlands Park is seeking volunteers in all areas including environmental education, visitor services, and outdoor stewardship.
Is volunteering at Wetlands Park right for you? The first step to becoming a volunteer is to attend a Get Involved at Wetlands Park class. You'll learn about Wetlands Park, volunteer opportunities, and the process to become a Clark County Wetlands Park volunteer. Youth age 12 and up may volunteer with a guardian.
If you would like to Get Involved at Wetlands Park, sign up at volunteer.ccwetlandspark.com
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 Green Darner Dragonfly. Photo by Philip Martini.
Nature Close-up: Green Darner Dragonfly
Green Darner Dragonflies are the biggest and most widespread darner in North America found near warm, still bodies of water including ponds and wetlands. Green darners are vibrant in appearance from their viridescent head to green thorax. Males have a distinguishable black abdomen with glossy blue markings whereas the females have a faint brownish abdomen. Remarkably, green darners can thermoregulate, or maintain their internal body temperature, and adapt to its surroundings by changing the color of its abdomen to either attract or reflect sunlight. This dragonfly is believed to have earned its name due to their likeness to a darning needle.
Green darners are skillful predators at every stage of their life cycle. At the larval stage, a nymph will spend a large majority of its life in the water eating fish eggs, tadpoles, and other small aquatic animals before metamorphosing into adults. As adults, green darners use their impressive wings to dart in any direction to hunt wasps, butterflies, and mosquitoes. Each wing works separately aiding in precise maneuverability and evading, flying up to 48 miles per hour.
What makes green darners so fascinating is their multi-generational journey to complete one cycle of migration. The first generation emerges around February in the southern U.S., Mexico, and the Caribbean where they proceed to fly north to lay the eggs of what is to be the second generation of green darners. The second generation will travel south in late October. Following the second generation, the third generation spends the winter in the south before laying eggs and beginning the process over again.
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 Wetlands Park staff and Discovery Walk participants searching for an owl hidden in a tree. Photo by Sonia George.
Evolve your artistic skills in a Studio WP Art Program like Nature Art for Kids and Watercolor Painting for Adults. Accompany a park naturalist and wander into nature together on a Discovery Walk for all ages. Join a Red Rock Audubon Society birding expert and park naturalist on a Birding Walk to learn about our feathery friends that call the Park home. Cooler weather is here, let's take the classroom outside! Bring the family to kids' programs like Wetlands Explorers for fun, outdoor activities. Get involved with our monthly Wetlands: Hands On! (W.H.O.) outdoor stewardship events. If it's a little too cold outside, enjoy a Nature Tales class held inside the Lizard Lounge.
Mark your calendars and join us for the month of October for fun, spooky activities concluding with our annual event, Haunt the Wetlands on Friday, October 24. After Thanksgiving, join us for Family Day on Friday, November 28 and Saturday, November 29.
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 Great Blue Heron. Photo submission by Alan Taub.
Have you taken a photo in Wetlands Park that you would like to share? Want to see your Wetlands Park photo featured in an upcoming newsletter?
Submit your high-resolution photo(s) to: wetlands@clarkcountynv.gov. Include your name, date, and location of the photo.
Post about it on Social media!
#CCWetlandsPark
#CallforWPphotos
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Wetlands Walkers is a self-guided program for individuals looking to reach personal fitness goals while walking in the beauty and serenity of nature. Participants walk the trails in the Park, track mileage, and earn rewards at milestones. Walk with friends, family, or on your own. Reward notifications are issued once a month via email. Anyone can join!
As a group, walked mileage is tallied to reach a yearly goal matching the migration distance of one of the Park's visiting species. In 2025 the Walkers are recognizing the Green Darner Dragonfly, which annually migrates approximately 5,700 miles over multiple generations. As of the end of September, the Walkers' mileage is 5,367. To learn more about the Wetlands Walkers program, the annual species, to sign up, or to log your miles, please visit our website, walkers.ccwetlandspark.com.
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Wetlands Park offers monthly guided walks which make it easy and fun to earn miles. Visit programs.ccwetlandspark.com to sign up for an upcoming guided walk.
Upcoming Guided Walks (Walker membership not required but pre-registration is)
Women's Walk in the Wetlands: Hiking 101 Saturday, October 18, 9 am to 11 am
Discovery Walk: Butterflies in the Sky Saturday, November 1, 2 pm to 4 pm
Java Jaunt Birding Saturday, November 15, 8 am to 10 pm
Women's Walk in the Wetlands: Nature Journaling Saturday, December 20, 9 am to 11 am
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Educator, Translator, & Navigator
The Wetlands Park Navigator mobile app is brought to you with support of Wetlands Park Friends. Download the mobile app through Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The Navigator provides content including tours, maps, directions, and other Park information in English, Spanish, and Tagalog.
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