Clark County Wetlands Park and the Wetlands Park Friends are pleased to announce that they have added a September presentation to their “Wetlands in the Summer: An Evening Lecture Series.” On Wednesday, September 11, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Park’s Nature Center Auditorium, 7050 Wetlands Park Lane, off Tropicana Avenue. No registration is required—simply walk in and enjoy! Light refreshments will be provided during the event.

The September lecture is entitled, “Ice Age Wetlands in the Las Vegas Valley,” which will be presented by “Dr. Ranger” Lauren Parry, a paleontologist and Park Ranger at Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in the upper Las Vegas Wash, Nevada.

For over 100 years, scientific investigation has revealed stories of our past at Tule Springs Fossil Beds. Stories of past environments, animals, and people have been interpreted from the rock, fossil, and archeological records of the Tule Springs area, but how have those stories evolved with us? This talk will explore the natural history of the Ice Age Las Vegas and how water has transformed the Valley for the last 570,000 years. Learn how science can evolve and reframe our past with new perspectives and technology.

Throughout her career and schooling, Parry has conducted fieldwork on Nevada’s public lands, managed fossil museum collections, researched the lives of extinct mammoths, and is now helping to build a new fossil park from the ground up. She earned her doctorate in paleontology from UNLV in 2020 and enjoys using her background and expertise to collaborate with other scientists, artists, educators, and planners. Learning is her passion, and she hopes to connect the community to park science and place-based history.

Photo credit: Desert Research Institute