Walker Lake residents, Pete and Nan Ferlisi captured the Nevada Department of Transportation workers removing all of the Walker Lake State Beach recreational signs which were acknowledging an exit for picnic facilities, restrooms, fishing and a boating ramp.
“It’s sadly the end of an era now. We used that day-use area to launch our boat back in 1989 and into the 90’s. We noticed a deterioration of services down there for a while. There were no picnic tables, trash cans or open restrooms for over a year. We understand this put a strain on the public bathroom requests at the Buffalo Stop (located across the highway),” said Mr. Ferlisi.
Nan had her picture taken with one of the signs as a remembrance of days gone by.
The NDOT worker explained that the signs would be recycled elsewhere and no explanation of removal was given. The State Beach is located off Highway 95, on the east side of the road.
As previously reported in the Jan. 15 edition of the Independent-News, the commissioners reported that the possibility of Mineral County taking over the State Beach property were in discussions. Commissioner Jerrie Tipton explained that she was approached at the SLUPAC meeting about this transaction, which would also include the National Guard Armory building.
The once privately owned, 200 plus acres at the State Beach has a stipulation that it must be used for public access forever. Tipton stated in the Jan. 5 meeting that Mineral County needed to let the state know if the county was in agreement, but a possible two years may be necessary to obtain the correct legal wording.
At a Walker Lake Working Group meeting held March 12, Commissioner Cliff Cichowlaz was casually asked if there was any further information about the county obtaining the state park.
He said there were no definite dates or plans yet, but the removal of the existing cabanas would be addressed, as they had been slated for Lahontan State Park, but it seemed they could be left for Mineral County’s use in the negotiation process.
