Photos taken by UNLV students at the Basin and Range National Monument are being turned into a series of posters to promote the remote federal preserve in Lincoln County.
Adjunct art faculty Checko Salgado and a self-described group of city kids took the two-and-a-half hour trip north of Las Vegas for a pair of photo expeditions to capture the monument’s stark beauty.
“What I like about the area is the desolation,” Salgado told KNPR's State of Nevada, “It really encompasses what Nevada is, the barren area, which is what Basin and Range is.”
Posters made from the images will be used to help promote the BLM-run Basin and Range.
Matt Segundo went on the trips with Salgado.
“Being part of that trip, it really opened my eyes," he said, "I was in awe of what Nevada brought.”
Segundo said being disconnected from the world in the middle of the desert allowed him to soak up what was around him and take some beautiful photographs.
“Every photo I took didn’t feel like bad one,” he said, “Every point of view was perfect”
The effort builds on a Basin and Range art show Salgado curated last summer and was exhibited at UNLV’s Grant Hall Gallery.
Alicia Styles is the manager of the Basin and Range National Monument. She told KNPR's State of Nevada that they hoping to create between 10 and 20 posters that will be put up in businesses around Nevada.
She advises though that if people do decide to go out to the area that they be prepared. There is no cellphone service, the roads are not paved and there are very few amenities.
The monument, which turns 1 this month, has been the subject of a recent series of public hearings to collect input on a land-use plan and whether there should be improvements there, such as a campground, paved roads, or visitor center.
Checko Salgado, UNLV adjunct art faculty; Matt Segundo, a recent UNLV graduate whose work is being made into a poster; and Alicia Styles, manager of the Basin and Range National Monument.