Cottonwood Cove Road Improvements Environmental Assessment

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public input on an environmental assessment that evaluates the impacts of improving the existing Cottonwood Cove Road. This road provides visitors with the only vehicular access from US Route 95 in Searchlight, Clark County, Nevada to Cottonwood Cove at the northern end of Lake Mohave. The Environmental Assessment is available for review and comment for 30 days.

Cottonwood Cove Road passes through Lake Mead National Recreation Area, as well as the Piute Eldorado Valley Area of Critical Environmental Concern, which is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Cottonwood Cove provides a variety of recreational opportunities, including two campgrounds, a trailer home/recreational vehicle park, a marina and boat launch, a motel with a marina store and café, a fish cleaning station, a swim beach, and a picnic area. Under current conditions, water access to Lake Mead is becoming increasingly difficult, making safe and reliable access to Lake Mohave more important for maintaining recreation opportunities at Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The environmental assessment presents two alternatives for managing Cottonwood Cove Road, describes the environment that would be impacted by the alternatives, and analyzes the environmental consequences of implementing the alternatives. Under the no-action alternative, no improvements would be made to Cottonwood Cove Road, though routine maintenance would continue. Under the proposed action, modifications would be made to Cottonwood Cove Road to improve visitor experience, safety, accessibility, and park operations.

This environmental assessment has been prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The NPS is seeking public comments on this project in compliance with both NEPA and Section 106 of NHPA. The NPS seeks comments on potential impacts on historic properties in accordance with Section 106 of the NHPA.

Document Content:

LAKE Cottonwood Cove Road EA_Apr 2023_508.pdf   (4.1 MB, PDF file) Disclaimer: Links within the above document(s) were valid as of the date published. Note: Some of the files may be in PDF format and can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. You may download a free copy of from Adobe Systems.