Trailer owners win as National Park Service changes course on boat parking policy at Cottonwood Cove
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The federal government’s change of heart over parking rules could restore peace of mind for trailer owners at Cottonwood Cove, a remote hideaway that’s one of the last of its kind on National Park Service (NPS) land.
It’s a dramatic reversal in a story 8 News Now brought you in February, but it’s been in the works for months following a contentious community meeting where people shouted their questions at NPS officials and representatives of concessionaire Lake Mead Mohave Adventures, part of Guest Services Inc. (GSI)
NPS has been laying the groundwork to eliminate trailer villages by 2043. In February, tenants had just learned of the changes and they were not happy.
For Cottonwood Cove, it meant tenants would be forced to park their boats and other vehicles at a dry storage area just up the road when they weren’t staying at the trailer village. Trailer owners are allowed to use them only 180 days out of the year under terms of their leases. For decades, they had parked their boats under awnings next to their trailers — awnings they also paid for.
They were told that was a fire hazard. That bewildered people in the crowd in February, and officials struggled to make their point that there was fuel in the boats. Tenants countered that people park their cars next to buildings all the time. What’s the difference?
A change of heart
The comments didn’t fall on deaf ears. Lake Mead National Recreation Area Supt. Mike Gauthier was there but spoke only briefly. He was still there after the crowd dispersed, talking with people who had asked questions, including a retired fire marshal who owns a trailer at the park.
“Our superintendent heard that, as did his team, and they took it back to Boulder City to their office, and the very next Monday, Supt. Gauthier called me and says, ‘Hey, I heard what you said. I heard what GSI said. I heard what other members, owners said. And I was listening. And I’m going to work on this,’ ” recounts Jim Gartner, a volunteer who runs the village trailer owners association.
“And he really did. He worked on it since that time. And in a very short time was able to change rules that appeared to be cast in concrete from Washington. Needless to say that was very impressive,” Gartner said.
Gauthier, who became permanent superintendent at Lake Mead National Recreation Area last summer, was not available for comment for this story. “We heard from the trailer owners at Cottonwood Cove and amended the boat storage policy. The NPS thanks Guest Services Inc. for working with us to help park visitors have a great experience,” John Haynes, Public Affairs Officer for Lake Mead, said Friday.
It’s not the only change. Officials also removed restrictions related to trailer owners’ choice of assessors if they decided to sell. Only some assessors are approved to deal with property on government land, but officials are going to allow any assessor to work with trailer owners.
Rod Taylor, vice president of hospitality at Guest Services, provided this statement late Friday:
“Guest Services is pleased to announce that an updated set of National Park Trailer Village Standards was signed into effect by the recently appointed Superintendent of Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Mike Gauthier. The old standards were implemented in 1999 and used to manage the long-term mobile home parks at Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. Through a collaborative process with Guest Services and other stakeholders, Mr. Gauthier and his team worked to modify the standards that better served all the stakeholders in the park creating more user-friendly terms while promoting better safety in the park.
“Additional rules based on the terms of Cottonwood Cove’s new lease require all mobile homes be relinquished or removed at the end of year 19 of the contract.
“In the near future, you can find the new standards, along with Cottonwood Cove’s Rules at https://cottonwoodcoveresort.com/forms/.”
Trailer owners happy
Gartner said about a half-dozen trailer owners sold since the February meeting. There are about 225 trailers at the village, he said. About half are members of the association.
Gartner is preparing notices for those members to inform them of the changes, but many already know after attending a barbecue last weekend at Cottonwood Cove. Trailer owner Jim Stahovich was there, and he said Friday that trailer owners are happy the rules had been revised.
“We can now continue to store our boats at our trailer site as in the past,” Stahovich said. “The Parks Service had reconsidered the situation and thankfully worked things out with us.”
In February, Stahovich said people understand the trailer village is being eliminated, but it didn’t make since to put a bunch of new rules in place. Now, he’s looking to the years ahead.
“There are a lot of changes planned for the future of Cottonwood Cove. Hopefully things will work out for everyone involved as planned. If not, at least what we have now will be preserved for the foreseeable future,” he said.
“Who knows, there is always a chance that ‘this little piece of history’ may be here forever. I am sure someone’s great grandchildren will be very happy if it does,” Stahovich said.
$10 million in renovations
The changes at Cottonwood Cove came as Lake Mead Mohave Adventures announced a new 25-year lease on the site, where there is currently a marina, a motel, an RV park, a café and a store. With the lease secured, $10 million in improvements are planned at the site.
Plans for the marina include the addition of 46 covered slips, along with covers on 74 existing slips. A 400-foot “courtesy dock” will also be installed along the south end of the North Beach Swimming area, providing a place for boats to tie up.
The café will be tranformed into the only pub on the lake where guests can enjoy pub-style food and a full bar. A complete remodel of the 24-room motel is planned. See more details of the renovation plan here.
Cottonwood Cove is on the Nevada side of Lake Mohave, about 70 miles southeast of Las Vegas via U.S. 95, and about 13 miles straight east of Searchlight.
Lake Mohave isn’t subject to the same fluctuations that affect Lake Mead. The water level for boat ramps, beaches and the marina are about the same year-round.
The National Park Service staffs a fee station between Searchlight and Cottonwood Cove.
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