Former U.S. Sen. Richard H. Bryan will announce Preserve Nevada's inaugural 2002 choices for the "11 Most Endangered Sites" and "11 Preservation Success Stories" at a kick-off event for the new organization being held April 3 in Las Vegas.
Bryan is the founding chair of Preserve Nevada, a new statewide non-profit preservation organization dedicated to protecting Nevada's rich heritage. Preserve Nevada is associated with the National Trust for Historic Preservation in partnership with the public history program of the UNLV College of Liberal Art's department of history.
The event is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on the front steps of the historic Las Vegas High School (now the home of the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts) located at 7th Street and Bridger Avenue.
A similar event to announce the formation of the new organization will also be held in Reno on April 4 at 9 a.m. at the Virginia Street Bridge in downtown Reno. That press conference will be held inside the historic Riverside Hotel Artspace.
"An important part of UNLV's mission is to develop synergy between professional and liberal studies and to develop and support partnerships between the university and the community that it serves," President Carol C. Harter said. "The collaboration between Preserve Nevada and UNLV's public history program is an excellent example of the kinds of creative ways these goals can be attained."
Preserve Nevada's inaugural board members include former U.S. Sen. Richard H. Bryan; Andrew Kirk, assistant professor of history and director of UNLV's public history program; Sue Fawn Chung, professor of history at UNLV and Southern Nevada adviser to the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Robert A. Stoldal, general manager of Las Vegas One cable television; Carrie Young, founding member of the Truckee Meadows Heritage Trust; Patricia Ferraro Klos, teacher and author; Dorothy Wright, cultural program administrator for Clark County; Gregory Seymour, archaeologist for the Las Vegas Springs Preserve; Andria S. Daley-Taylor, Northern Nevada adviser to the National Trust for Historic Preservation; and "Bert" Bedeau, architectural historian and director of the Comstock Historic District Commission.
Using the model established by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the board of directors will issue an annual list of the 11 most endangered sites and a complementary list of 11 saved historic sites. As with this year's choices, the sites will be selected by the board after carefully collecting information and soliciting advice from individuals, groups, and agencies throughout the state. The goal of the annual list is to help elicit public support and bring attention to significant building, sites, and landscapes that face a threat.
"Preserve Nevada is an organization that will foster partnerships throughout the state to preserve Nevada's rich cultural and archaeological heritage," said Andrew Kirk, director of UNLV's public history program. "Likewise, it will provide a unique educational experience for UNLV students who will have an opportunity to work directly with preservationists, community leaders, and scholars in this effort."
Additional support for Preserve Nevada is provided by a $35,000 challenge grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
For more information about Preserve Nevada, contact Andrew Kirk or Mary Wammack, assistant director, at (702) 895-2908 or send an E-mail to: Preserve.Nevada@ccmail.nevada.edu.
