Its fans say it's been a valuable natural sciences teaching tool.

Its critics say it's a health and safety hazard.

Plans to turn a neglected naturea area near an elementary school into a parking lot is stirred debate in Lovelock.

For Elaine Pommerening it's a crying shame. "I cried for a long time,but I'm trying to get over it and be brave."

t's easy to understand Elaine Pommerening's to this brush and tree filled lot across the street from Lovelock's Elementary School. Fifteen years ago, she marshalled members of a summer youth jobs project and volunteers and spearheaded its creation. It was an ambitious undertaking, planting a patch of suburban woodland, a window into nature.

Pommerening planned it as an outdoor natural science classroom for local sltudents.

"Like Oxbow Park. Just nature. Trees growing, creating shade, doing what they do."

And 15 years later the trees she planted as twigs are fully grown. If nothing else, it is a pocket nature reserve. "There's a lot of quail in there." says Jim Goldsworthy who lives nearby. "If you walk through there there's a lot of birds generally."

And local science teachers used the park as a teaching tool.

But as years went by the park was neglected. Weeds grew, vandals destroyed a railing where a pond was planned. Then a year ago the school district turned off the water.
"
It's in bad shape," Pommerening admits. "It's stressed." But she and others say the park is just in need of a good cleanup.

Others say it's deteriorated beyond that point and is now a hazard.

"You can't walk through there at this point<" says school board member Laura Richardson. "There's been fires. There's been drugs. Kids running in and out."

And Richardson says the school district has other uses for the property. "We need more parking especially during pick up times and during events and games."

Pommerening disagrees. "I don't see the need."

She may have a point. neither the town nor Pershing County schools have been growing and the parking lot next to the park and the elementary school doesn't seem crowded. Besides there's an empty lot next door.. Pommerening says she was told to leave it alone as she was building the adjacent park.

"I was told it was designed to be a parking lot."

Richardson says the empty lot has been designated a flood catchment basin

The school board has voted to move ahead with the parking lot though Richardson says they are still open to other ideas perhaps saving some of the larger trees as landscaping or even leaving a small piece of the park in its present state. The board, she says, does see the value of a nature area.
"Ifif we could preserve a portion of the park for that purpose it would be great.

The park's supporters see little reason in destroying the one they have.