Lake Mead NRA Channels - 2020

[zerg901]

Lake Mead National Recreation Area near Las Vegas - operated by the Natl Park Service

(they have maybe 9 structural fire pumpers - what channels are they heard on? - maybe all of them ?)

Info from a 2020 federal wildfire document for southern nevada units - this apparently is the programming for the *fire* radios in southern nevada - it probably does not match the programming for the law enforcement units - but it might be very close

"NPS Zone"

170.60 R - NAC 3E8 out - law enforcement (LE) - repeaters at Red Rock + Xmas + Hayford + Potosi - (different NAC for the input at each site)

170.3875 R - Charles LE

170.05 R - Boulder Beach LE

166.30 R - Virgin + Wilson + Perkins + Gnd Wash - (different PL on each sites input)

167.125 R - PL 123.0 out - Perkins LE

168.25 R - Scrub LE

173.675 R - NAC 47C out - Gass LE

168.35 - Government Common 2

154.77 R - PL 77.0 out - Metro Info - (metro pd channel apparently)

166.9625 - PL 192.8 on mobile TX and on mobile RX - "Potosi Ext" - (? extender ?)

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I have listed all the PL and NAC info given - except for the inputs

If I have not listed any PL or NAC then apparently the repeater is not transmitting any PL or NAC - or the mobiles are set up not to listen for any PL or NAC

Perkins and Potosi look like the only sites with more than 1 repeater / extender

 

[BCFlash]

The NPS did have/still have? quite a few structure fire engines but in recent years haven't had rangers certified in structure fire response to staff them. They now are relying on the nearest local fire dept. for a mutual aid response, i.e. Clark County, Henderson, Boulder City, Mojave Ranchos, etc. Those agencies do respond but the response time is longer. The NPS do have a new fire boat, call sign Fireboat Brown, stationed at the government dock in the Boulder Basin which they staff up as needed. They also have a seasonal wild land fire crew, call signs 7300-7302 for supervisors and 7361, 7362 for engines. They are based in Boulder City but do patrol around the area to assist the rangers on busy weekends.

For medical calls, some rangers are certified EMTs and a few used to be paramedics, they also have two contract paramedics, Medic 41 and Medic 42 who staff the NPS ambulance stationed in the Boulder Beach area, Rescue 4. Community Ambulance from Henderson is also frequently called into the park to handle transports. Henderson Fire, Boulder City Fire and Mojave Ranchos Fire also respond as needed with paramedic ambulances.

 

[zerg901]

BCFlash - thanks for the info on the structure engines - I tried to do a little internet research on them and came up with nothing - they kinda just disappeared into thin air - now I know why - also - PaysonScanner made a recent comment about the NPS opening new units and having to take staffing from existing units - so now I have the 'what' and the 'why' on the structural engines at Lake Mead

 

[Paysonscanner]

The NPS did have/still have? quite a few structure fire engines but in recent years haven't had rangers certified in structure fire response to staff them. They now are relying on the nearest local fire dept. for a mutual aid response, i.e. Clark County, Henderson, Boulder City, Mojave Ranchos, etc. Those agencies do respond but the response time is longer. The NPS do have a new fire boat, call sign Fireboat Brown, stationed at the government dock in the Boulder Basin which they staff up as needed. They also have a seasonal wild land fire crew, call signs 7300-7302 for supervisors and 7361, 7362 for engines. They are based in Boulder City but do patrol around the area to assist the rangers on busy weekends.

For medical calls, some rangers are certified EMTs and a few used to be paramedics, they also have two contract paramedics, Medic 41 and Medic 42 who staff the NPS ambulance stationed in the Boulder Beach area, Rescue 4. Community Ambulance from Henderson is also frequently called into the park to handle transports. Henderson Fire, Boulder City Fire and Mojave Ranchos Fire also respond as needed with paramedic ambulances.

Lake Mead has very high visitation that continues to increase. I think it has more visitation than Great Smokey Mountains NP, which is the most visited national park, 59 in all. But, the NPS has somewhere around 420 units with other classifications such as National Monuments and National Recreation Areas (some with this label are managed by the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and I think the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has one). A few NRA's have more visitation than Great Smokey Mountains. The NPS has about 20% fewer rangers than it did in the 1990's. In addition park units with a larger number of rangers (Division of Visitor and Resource Protection, not Division of Interpretation rangers) have had to give up positions to staff the units that have been added. This without an proportional increase in protection ranger positions, in fact without any increase in personnel at all. Protection rangers have been slammed. There isn't the time to get them all the qualifications they need for what they face. It shows up nearly daily in parks with medium to high visitor use. They've been valiantly sticking bubble gum and their fingers in the dyke, but you know how that goes. It is a similar situation for the other federal land management agencies as well. By the way, I said Great Smokey Mountains gets 10+ million visitors a year, but Golden Gate National Recreation Area gets about 20 million. I think Gateway NRA gets about 16 million and Lake Mead is 2-3 million less that that. Lake Mead is considered a tough place to work. A college classmate of mine was married to a Lake Mead protection ranger and I learned a great deal about the NPS from him. He retired and they moved from Vegas a couple of years ago to somewhere much higher in elevation and a lot more peaceful! He got bit by the "57 bug," emergency service personnel in the federal government have an age 57 mandatory retirement.

 

[BCFlash]

Paysonscanner thanks for your comments, enjoy reading them in the NV and AZ forums as well. I have listened to the Lake Mead NRA channels for many years and it does appear that they have fewer Protection/Law Enforcement Rangers now than 5 yrs. ago. I heard two receive a retirement salute over the air this year. They also have more responsibility, about a year an a half ago the sworn Federal law enforcement Hoover Dam Police unit was stood down and the NPS Rangers were given the responsibility for the dam. There are also still some security guards at the dam.

In mid-May parts of the Lake Mead NRA were re-opened after Covid-19 closure, as many other parks in the area such as Red Rock, Valley of the Fire and Mojave remained closed there were large crowds immediately at the beaches and boat ramps. I heard call signs of at least a dozen LE rangers from Grand Canyon, Mojave, Yosemite, Zion and other parks that were brought in on temporary duty for a few weeks while their parks were still closed. That was a good idea and helped a lot while it lasted.

Hoover Dam is still closed to the public so that has freed up some rangers to work other areas at Lake Mead. Arizona DPS rarely has patrol units very far north of Kingman on HWY 93. As a result they call for NPS response for the first 20 miles or so of HWY 93 south of the Nevada state line, this is a major 4 lane divided highway now and there are quite a few calls in that area.

 

[Paysonscanner]

I'm going to pass along your comment about working U.S. 93 south of the state line to my friends. Maybe he had to also, but I don't remember him saying that. It reminds me of the Angeles NF where some of the state code law enforcement is done by the USFS LEO's on the forest, because CHP and LASD are all tied up with overwhelming call volumes down in the flats. I know that USFS LEO's have to be sworn in by the County Sheriff of the county they are stationed in to be able to become state peace officers. Nearly every county does this. I wonder if the NPS protection rangers have to go through the same process? Again, my friend never mentioned this and I never asked. I would imagine they do as they attend the same class at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center as the USFS, NPS and USFWS. My friends graduation picture from way back when had people of those agencies in uniform. The state knows that they will have an initial medical response when the NPS roles, something other LE agencies don't always provide. The NPS protection rangers wear 5 hats, 1 LE hat, 1 EMS hat, 1 structural fire hat, 1 wildland fire hat and 1 SAR hat. My friend said it is tough to qualify for all 5 and then keep up with the periodic re qualifications. Like I said Lake Mead is a tough place to work and burn out attrition occurs.

 

[AZMONITOR]

If you have driven on US93 South of the Hoover Dam you will see the NPS marker about mile post 15. From that point to the Nevada border is all NPS jurisdiction within the LMNRA. ADOT maintains the road and DPS is up in that area only when needed. NPS rangers often respond to traffic accidents and other incidents down to MP 15. Radio monitoring is often very interesting in this area and can easily be heard in Kingman.

 

[Paysonscanner]

I'm going to pass along your comment about working U.S. 93 south of the state line to my friends. Maybe he had to also, but I don't remember him saying that. It reminds me of the Angeles NF where some of the state code law enforcement is done by the USFS LEO's on the forest, because CHP and LASD are all tied up with overwhelming call volumes down in the flats. I know that USFS LEO's have to be sworn in by the County Sheriff of the county they are stationed in to be able to become state peace officers. Nearly every county does this. I wonder if the NPS protection rangers have to go through the same process? Again, my friend never mentioned this and I never asked. I would imagine they do as they attend the same class at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center as the USFS, BLM and USFWS. My friends graduation picture from way back when had people of those agencies in uniform. The state knows that they will have an initial medical response when the NPS roles, something other LE agencies don't always provide. The NPS protection rangers wear 5 hats, 1 LE hat, 1 EMS hat, 1 structural fire hat, 1 wildland fire hat and 1 SAR hat. My friend said it is tough to qualify for all 5 and then keep up with the periodic re qualifications. Like I said Lake Mead is a tough place to work and burn out attrition occurs.

I meant to say, the FLETC has the NPS, USFS, BLM and USFWS in the same course.

 

[Paysonscanner]

If you have driven on US93 South of the Hoover Dam you will see the NPS marker about mile post 15. From that point to the Nevada border is all NPS jurisdiction within the LMNRA. ADOT maintains the road and DPS is up in that area only when needed. NPS rangers often respond to traffic accidents and other incidents down to MP 15. Radio monitoring is often very interesting in this area and can easily be heard in Kingman.

Neat that you can hear Lake Mead NRA traffic in Kingman. The NRA is not an exclusive federal jurisdiction, I think it is concurrent. So state peace officers have jurisdiction for state law within the boundaries. Like most of these jurisdictions the state/local agencies depend on the NPS do to most of the law enforcement and EMS.

 

[BCFlash]

I think the Lake Mead NRA boundary is at MM 15 or 16 on Hwy 93, however the Rangers have to go down to about MM 19 to access the Temple Bar road and much further down to Pierce Ferry Rd. to access the Meadview, South Cove and Pearce Ferry area of the NRA. I have heard DPS ask for an NPS response down to MM 22, but not very often. This year the AZ areas have been extra busy because they reopened earlier than the main Nevada areas. This especially impacted Willow Beach and Temple Bar and more rangers have been assigned.