Started by a passionate group of educators and public lands advocates in 2003, Friends of Sloan Canyon now provides community support and educational resources that enhance the conservation, protection and public enjoyment of Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area.

In 2015 we entered into a partnership with the Bureau of Land Management to support stewardship and interpretive activities. We're currently partnering with BLM the following activities and initiatives:

Staffing the Visitor Contact Station

We'll soon be organizing volunteer members of the community to staff the information desk at Sloan Canyon NCA's new Visitor Contact Station, adjoining the Inspirada community in Henderson. Info Desk volunteers provide information to visitors on trail conditions & access points and encourage safe and responsible recreation practices.

Trail Monitoring and Maintenance

With increased use comes increased responsibility in conservation and protection. We're taking efforts to ensure our trails and access points are well maintained, unobstructed and as least-impacted by human presence as possible by coordinating varous trail monitoring and maintenance programs. In coordination with the Bureau of Land Management we organize trail crews to do lite trail maintenance, restore impacted landscapes, and remove trash from the trail and illegal dump sites.

Community Outreach

We take stewardship and recreation information directly to the community throughout Clark County with information stations at various community events. You may see us waving maps and volunteer information sheets at you at farmers markets, local civic centers, and trailheads.

Interpretive & Educational Programs

We promote and support BLM with interpretive programs such as topical guided hikes, wildlife and wildflower viewing excursions, backyard astronomy programs, and more. This includes supporting rangers in the classroom, helping gather resources and assistants for K-12 programs such as Every Kid Outdoors.

Board of Directors

  • Ron Safran

    N. Ron Safran is FSC’s Board President and lead for it's volunteer program. Ron graduated with a B.A. degree in Political Science from UCLA in 1972. Thereafter, he graduated from Southwestern School of Law with a Juris Doctorate in 1976. Then he entered the private practice of law from 1976 until 2014. Mr. Safran moved to Henderson, NV, adjacent to Sloan Canyon NCA, in July, 2017 after his wife of 45 years passed away. At that time his son, Jeffrey Safran, was the principal GIS scientist for the Bureau of Land Management and the co-creator of and instructor in the BLM UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle or drone) program, known as Fly BLM. Jeffrey, knowing about his dad’s love for the outdoors, hiking and desire to contribute his time and efforts on a volunteer basis to conservation, directed him to Sloan Canyon, NCA. Mr. Safran started volunteering at Sloan in October, 2017.

  • Kevin Duscha

    Kevin is a retired submariner and nuclear propulsion engineer, first as an officer of the US Navy then in the private sector. In New York, he served for 6 years on the board of the Empire State Aerosciences Museum, assisting in fundraising and execution of the local annual air show. Upon retirement, he and his wife moved here to Henderson, partly due to the ability to pursue outdoor recreation year-around and numerous local public lands. From speaking to rangers and volunteers sparked an interest in contributing to the efforts to make the Sloan Canyon NCA an enduring part of the Southern Nevada experience. Kevin looks forward to being able to help sustain and improve public lands experiences for all.

  • Cherise Simecek

    Cherise Simecek is a volunteer at Sloan Canyon. She has spent many hours hiking and installing markers for the trails around Sloan Canyon. In her former life after graduation from the University of Florida, she worked in sales at PPG Industries in the Coatings division from 1977 to 2004. From 2005 thru 2017 she worked at 2 wineries in Kentucky lending her expertise from planting to leading tastings. In the fall of 2017 she and her husband moved to Henderson to pursue outdoor recreation year round.

  • Judy Bundorf

    Judy Bundorf has called Southern Nevada home for 54 years and spent over three decades in management and marketing for local engineering firms before retiring in 2007. Long before joining FSC's
    board, she was already deeply invested in the desert: she was a charter member of UNLV's Natural Science Scholarship Association from 1974 to 2014, co-chairing it for 15+ years and organizing
    fundraising field trips across the Southwest led by UNLV and CSN science faculty.

    When local energy developers starting targeting pristine desert adjacent to local wilderness areas and undeveloped desert lands for wind energy projects Judy become an activist to protect the desert and its cultural sites, as well the plants and animals that live there. Her work with Basin and Range Watch has helped keep wind energy project out of thesensative desert lands.

  • Scott Soloway