TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF HISTORIC ST. THOMAS TOWN SITE

Date: January 7, 2011

Boulder City, Nev. —The National Park Service has announced a temporary closure of the historic town site of St. Thomas and access road in order to carry out a significant resource management project—the removal of invasive tamarisk plants.  The project is being done to protect fragile historic features of the town site from root damage. The closure will be in effect weekdays January 10-February 11, 2011.

The town site and access road will be open on weekends during this period in order to continue to provide visitors access to this unique resource.

“The NPS apologizes for any inconvenience these temporary closures may cause. This non-native plant removal project will improve visitor access to St. Thomas and improve safety in the area,” said Superintendent Bill Dickinson.

St. Thomas, located near Overton, NV, was occupied from the 1860s until being inundated by the rising levels of Lake Mead in 1938. Tamarisk, an invasive non-native tree, has been encroaching the town site since lake levels began dropping earlier this decade. An archeologist will be on site to monitor the project.

For updates and more about Lake Mead call the visitor center at
702-293-8990, or visit http://www.nps.gov/lake or
http://www.facebook.com/lakemead