Whittell estate deal not jeopardized by land sale proposal

Tuesday, April 7, 1998 | 12:56 p.m.

The Senate last week approved a measure by Sen. Dirk Kempthorne, R-Idaho, to allow proceeds from Bureau of Land Management land sales to pay for tax breaks for landowners who can't develop property that's home to endangered plants or animals.

The tax breaks are a key part of a pending overhaul of the Endangered Species Act.

Nevada Sens. Harry Reid and Dick Bryan are concerned the proposal could imperil efforts to preserve sensitive land in Nevada - but both said Monday the Whittell deal is safe.

They were backed by Phil Caterino of the American Land Conservancy, which brokered the deal that should soon have the U.S. Forest Service take possession of the 140-acre estate in a land exchange with Del Webb Corp.

Del Webb recently bought the $50 million property, and wants to trade it for public land in the booming Las Vegas area.

Because the deal involves a land exchange and not a sale, Bryan said it wouldn't be affected by Kempthorne's proposal.

"That land exchange is going to go forward," Bryan said. "I'm committed with every resource in my arsenal to get that property at Tahoe acquired."

Reid agreed, and added that the Kempthorne plan is a "disastrous public policy" that will probably be killed.

The Whittell estate was made available by New York philanthropist and mutual fund tycoon Jack Dreyfus, who bought the property in 1972.

The secluded estate was built between 1938 and 1941 by the late George Whittell, a quirky recluse and one-time San Francisco land baron.

The estate is located just south of the Nevada state park at Sand Harbor - also once part of Whittell's original holdings that totaled 14,623 acres and stretched for 29 miles along Tahoe's rugged east shore.