This is one of the more interesting inquiries we’ve received in a while. Our first avenue of research was to contact one of the larger mortuaries in town. The person we spoke to stated categorically that the disposal of human remains on public property is strictly illegal in Nevada. But when we tried to find out which specific law(s) applied, it turned out to be more complex than we’d imagined. So, to get the full legal scoop on this, we turned to the Research Division of the Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau, which kindly tackled the subject on our behalf. This is what they came back with regarding the legality of distributing cremated human remains on the Las Vegas Strip:
As you pointed out when you contacted us, Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 451.020, Subsection 2 allows for cremated remains to be transported in the state and disposed of in any manner desired or directed by the decedent or by the person charged by law with burying the remains. However, property ownership and solid-waste-disposal regulations affect the disposition of remains.
Nevada Revised Statutes 451.700, Subsection 3 states that cremated remains may be disposed of on private property with the written consent of the property owner. According to Jon Bunch, Chief Right of Way Engineer, Nevada Department of Transportation, the Strip (or Las Vegas Boulevard) is owned by numerous entities, both public and private. The State of Nevada owns, in various locations, the land on which the road sits. In other locations, the road is on land taken by easement but belongs to adjoining property owners. Anyone wishing to distribute remains on the Strip would have to determine the ownership of the property/ies in question and obtain the necessary written permission. Subsection 4 of NRS 451.700 also provides for the size of the particles of the remains to be distributed. You can review this statute at www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-451.html#NRS451Sec700
According to Lonnie Empey, Solid Waste & Compliance Supervisor, Clark County, the State of Nevada Environmental Commission authorizes municipalities to establish solid-waste-management authorities. In counties with populations of 400,000 or more, the management authorities are permitted by NRS 444.629 to establish a program for the control of unlawful dumping of solid waste. Cremated remains are considered solid waste and the placement of them on public property falls into the unlawful-dumping category. Nevada Revised Statutes 444.630 provides that unlawful dumping is punishable as a misdemeanor for a first offense, a gross misdemeanor with imprisonment in the county jail for not less than 14 days, but not more than one year for a second offense, and a gross misdemeanor and a one-year imprisonment in the county jail for a third offense. Cleanup and community service may also be required. You can review these statutes online at the Legislature’s Web site, www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-444.html#NRS444
So that's the bottom line legally. Yikes!
We then contacted one of the leading providers of helicopter rides in town (who asked to remain anonymous) to see if they had any take on the subject. We were somewhat (although not entirely — this is Las Vegas) surprised to learn that we weren't the first people to approach them with a request of this nature, and that they had in fact helped out with similar scenarios in the past. They confirmed that it's not legal to scatter ashes over the Strip and that you couldn't do this from their helicopters. However, they would be prepared to take you out over the desert, to a non-commercial/residential area, and allow you to scatter the ashes there. It would have to be a private charter as opposed to one of their scheduled tourist trips, and the cost would run in the region of $600-$1,200, depending on where you go, how many passengers there are, and so on.
