BOULDER CITY (KTNV) — After more than a dozen workers were terminated at Lake Mead National Recreation Area earlier this week, a large group of locals showed up outside of Lake Mead's Visitor Center on Saturday afternoon to protest the cuts and voice their support for public lands.
"I was very mad, very upset," said Rily Bellias. "I had a lot of friends impacted by this, I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. I had to do something."
Bellias' friend, Alison Gause, felt the same way, after learning thousands of federal employees with the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management lost their jobs nationwide.
"I felt like I had to do something," Gause said. "I have a lot of love in my heart here for the parks, the people and the communities that are so special."
According to the National Park Service, nearly six million people visit Lake Mead every year, with its beaches, trails and spectacular views.
With spring break right around the corner, Bellias and Gause organized Saturday's demonstration, because they believe cuts could have disastrous consequences, including here in Southern Nevada.
"If more cuts continue to happen these parks are not going to be functional," Bellias said. "Visitors are going to feel the effects, whether that's closed campgrounds, dirty toilets or trails that are closed."
Tiffany Pereria showed up on Saturday to support friends who've lost their jobs.
"I'm not gonna lie, I cried [when I heard the news]," Pereira said. "They were hydrologists, biologists, wildland firefighters–they were doing good work, important jobs, and they were let go."
"It's very important that we keep people like that around, to keep our parks protected and operating successfully," Mikaela Cohen said.
Cohen and her husband, Ethan, said they came out to Lake Mead on Saturday to make their voices heard.
"I hope they know we won't stop fighting, I hope they know this isn't going to end here," Ethan Cohen said. "We are going to keep pushing, we are going to be the resistance."
Organizers said seeing so many people at Lake Mead was inspiring, especially considering they weren't sure what the turnout was going to look like ahead of time.
"They can't take away our passion, and they can't take our free speech away as much as they want to try," Bellias said. "We're going to be out here doing something until change happens."
