In 1986, after a 40-year political struggle, Nevada’s first national park was created. Great Basin National Park is located in eastern Nevada on Highway 50 near the Nevada-Utah state line. The park encompasses 78,600 acres of the Snake Range within the broader area of the Great Basin. “From the sagebrush at its alluvial base to the 13,063-foot summit of Wheeler Peak, the park includes streams, lakes, alpine plants, abundant wildlife, a variety of forest types including groves of ancient Bristlecone pines, and numerous limestone caverns, including beautiful Lehman Caves,” according to the park’s official map and guide. Rangers at the visitor center at the entrance to Lehman Caves direct tourists to campgrounds, hiking trails and other natural attractions within the park.
Baker, Nevada, the gateway to Great Basin National Park, is situated at the base of Wheeler Peak. This small village of approximately 100 people had mixed feelings about the creation of the park. Some who opposed it believed the rustic atmosphere of the town would be ruined, while those who supported the park thought it would be an economic boom for the existing businesses and promote growth within the area. Both sides were wrong. Little has changed in Baker. The visitation at the park after an initial spike has leveled off at 80,000 to 90,000 visitors a year.
Baker’s service-oriented businesses, contending with a lack of capital, the remoteness of the area and a short summer season, are making an effort to increase tourism and also to extend the length of visitors’ stays within the area. In 1997, the Great Basin Tourism and Business Council was formed by the local business community. Working together, they have published two brochures, one of which is a business and services guide. The other, called “Speaking Great Basin,” promotes both the summer and winter attractions within the area. This brochure emphasizes the clean air, lack of traffic, slow pace and simplicity of life in this part of rural Nevada.
A Trout Unlimited chapter has been formed to promote fishing in the area. The chapter is working with Nevada Division of Wildlife, Great Basin National Park, U. S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to improve stream fishing and to re-introduce Bonneville cutthroat trout into selected streams in the area.
Also in 1997, the Nevada Commission on Tourism funded a Baker and Great Basin National Park Business Plan. The project included a recommendation for a wider, regional tourism approach, especially heritage tourism. This regional strategy gave specific attention to working toward congressional designation as a national heritage area. An intensive grass roots effort centered in Baker, but covering all of White Pine County in Nevada and Millard County in Utah, began the process towards national designation of the Great Basin Heritage Area. Various organizations, governmental entities and individuals have created a cohesive group known as the Great Basin Heritage Area Partnership which has consolidated support for the heritage area concept and has drafted legislation that will be introduced into the U.S. Senate by Senator Harry Reid in this session of Congress.
The Great Basin Heritage Area would include all of Millard County and White Pine County, along with land owned by the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, with Great Basin National Park being the central attraction. Congressional designation would provide funding to entities within the heritage area, such as the Northern Nevada Railroad Museum in Ely and the Topaz Japanese Relocation Camp near Delta, Utah, to enable them to develop facilities, market their attractions and create educational programs. With an incredible amount of volunteer hours and generous financial support from the Nevada Commission on Tourism, White Pine and Millard Counties and the state of Utah, the Great Basin Heritage Area Partnership believes exciting business opportunities will be generated by the creation of the Great Basin Heritage Area.