Our Mission
Protecting, preserving, supporting and promoting responsible stewardship of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument and Ice Age Fossils State Park.
Upcoming Events
TUSK TURNED 10!
Thank you to our wonderful volunteers, community partners and corporate sponsors below who helped make the 10-Year Anniversary Celebration of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument a success!
Our Story
Protectors of Tule Springs was informally founded in 2006 in an effort to preserve the last of the undeveloped portions of the Upper Las Vegas Wash basin in the northwest portion of the Las Vegas Valley.
In the early 2000s, those areas were proposed as a disposal area for the further development of the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, and unincorporated Clark County. During a meeting held to finalize the proposed disposal of these lands, a small group of citizens became aware of the unique paleontological and biological resources that would be forever lost to more roads, housing and commercial development should the proposed disposal boundary be approved.
This small group of North Las Vegas residents began an 8-year effort to forever protect what was nearly lost.
Protectors of Tule Springs became a formal non-profit corporation and recognized 501(c)(3) charitable organization in 2012.
Monumental Mammoth Sculpted from Recycled Desert Trash
Southern Nevada now has an iconic, life-sized Columbian Mammoth sculpture, inspired by the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument! The Monumental Mammoth is now permanently installed at Ice Age Fossils State Park, standing as a symbol of Nevada's Pleistocene past and enhancing the visitors' experience for years to come!
News About Protectors
10th Annual Art Contest
Annual Student Art Contest - April 5, 2025 Each School year, Protectors co-hosts an annual art contest for Clark County students where they learn about Nevada’s Pleistocene past, the fossil beds, and the flora and fauna that are found in these protected lands just...
September General Meeting
September General Meeting The next Protectors of Tule Springs general membership meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 10, 2024. The meeting will be held from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Sun City Aliante Clubhouse, 7390 Aliante Parkway. The agenda will include updates...
Fossil Day Art Contest for Students
Protectors of Tule Springs, in partnership with the Las Vegas Science & Technology Festival, Las Vegas Natural History Museum and Clark County School District School-Community Partnership Program, is hosting our 9th annual art contest: “I’m A Protector Too…Past...
Update on the Proposed Greenlink West Transmission Project
Protectors continues the fight to protect our Monument. Although the period for public comment has ended, the work has just begun. Click here to read the full joint statement by the National Parks Conservation Association and Protectors of Tule Springs. See our fact...
Protect Our Park & FIGHT FOR THE FOSSILS!
NV Energy has requested approval of a right-of-way to construct, operate and maintain a system of transmission facilities and associated infrastructure that would transmit electricity between Northern Nevada and the Harry Allen Substation in Clark County – known as...
Meet the Latest Teacher-Ranger-Teacher!
This summer, Protectors funded another Teacher-Ranger-Teacher (TRT) position for the National Park Service. Damon Wahl has been a teacher for 20 years in the Clark County School District and currently teaches the Gifted and Talented Education Program at Kay Carl and...
Partnerships and Support
Protectors’ public awareness campaign evolved into a partnership with a diverse group of organizations and a broad base of public support. Managed by the National Park Service, the effort to make this area a national monument attracted the unanimous support of local elected officials, the United States Air Force, the Las Vegas Paiute tribe, tourism industry leaders, educators, scientists, conservation organizations and community groups. In addition, thousands of citizens registered their support.
Four local government entities – the Clark County Commission, the Las Vegas Mayor and Council, the North Las Vegas Mayor and Council, and the Tribal Council of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe – voted on and unanimously passed a resolution in November 2009 asking Congress to make Tule Springs a part of the National Park System.