LakeMeadOnline.com has been in contact with Andrew Muñoz, who is a Public Affairs Officer for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The following facts and figures were obtained by Officer Muñoz. LakeMeadOnline.com is grateful for his help.

Local Economy:

1. • In 2009 the Lake Mead NRA grossed $3.6 million in visitor recreation fees through its four entrance stations and seven campgrounds.
   

2. • The concessions operations in the Lake Mead NRA gross about $45 million annually.
   

3. • The Lake Mead NRA estimates that the park contributes about $500 million annually to the local and regional economies.
   

About the Lake Mead NRA:

1. • The Lake Mead NRA is the first and largest recreation area in the United States
   

2. • The Lake Mead NRA is the fifth most visited national park in the United States
   

3. • Visitation to the Lake Mead NRA at just about 8 million visits equals that of Yosemite National Park (~3.6 million) and Grand Canyon National Park (~4.4 million) combined.
   

4. • The visitation on a holiday weekend can easily exceed 140,000 visits, which is greater than the annual visitation of 40% of national parks.
   

5. • Lake Mead NRA’s federally appropriated budget is ~$18 million.
   

6. • 90% of Lake Mead NRA’s budget pays for the 220 people that run the park.
   

Significance of the Lake Mead NRA:

1. • 900 plant species
   

2. • 500 animal species
   

3. • Convergence of three of the four North American Deserts (Great Basin, Mojave, Sonoran)
   

4. • 25 threatened or endangered species
   

5. • 9 wilderness areas (185,000 acres)
   

6. • 1.8 million years of geological occurrences
   

7. • 10,000 years of human presence
   

8. • Nevada’s first Traditional Cultural Property
   

Facilities at the Lake Mead NRA:

1. • 8 water and waste water systems
   

2. • 340 buildings (seven fire stations)
   

3. • 240 miles of paved roads
   

4. • 850 miles of gravel and dirt roads
   

5. • 7 campgrounds with 955 sites
   

6. • 7 major marinas
   

7. • $1 billion in infrastructure
   

Its important to realize the distinction between the National Park Service and other federal land management agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. The Lake Mead NRA is a preservation agency versus a conservation agency. That's why you can't cut down trees, remove any natural resource from the park, drive off road vehicles, or even target shoot in a national park. Many people don't realize that taking a souvenir rock from the Lake Mead NRA is illegal. Congress has said in enabling legislation that Lake Mead NRA would allow hunting and it does.

The Lake Mead NRA’s mission is outlined in both the National Park Service organic act and the park's enabling legislation. The Lake Mead NRA is required to manage the park...

“…to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” (NPS organic act - 16 USC 1)

“…for general purposes of public recreation, benefit and use, in a manner that will preserve, develop and enhance, so far as practicable, the recreation potential, and in a manner that will preserve the scenic, historic, scientific, and other important features of the area...” (Lake Mead NRA enabling legislation - 16 USC 460n-3)

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