Editorial: Elko isn’t showing wisdom

Monday, July 17, 2000 | 9:07 a.m.

For the second straight time that it has met, the Elko County Commission has refused to sign off on a mediated settlement, a pact which would end a 5-year-old impasse between the federal government and the county. The stalemate began in 1995 when a flood washed out a 1.5-mile stretch of dirt road on National Forest land; the county wanted the road rebuilt, while federal wildlife officials worried construction could threaten the endangered bull trout, which live in the nearby Jarbidge River. The commission's decision Wednesday to postpone action on the mediated agreement is irresponsible and suggests that these elected officials have no interest in finding common ground on this divisive issue. As the Sun's Greg Tuttle reported, while no action was taken Wednesday, three of the five commissioners indicated they would have voted against the settlement.

The latest inaction by the Elko County Commission prompted a pointed response from U.S. Attorney Kathryn Landreth, who said that the failure of the commission to respond Wednesday was a rejection of mediation in favor of litigation. The fact is that the Elko County Commission agreed to mediation, which was an effort to find a workable solution to the problem. The agreement actually should be amenable to Elko County: The road can be rebuilt as long as construction follows federal conservation and environment laws.

For that matter, a number of elected officials in both state and federal government, including some who have been sympathetic or supportive of the county's cause, have urged Elko County to accept the compromise. Those who support the pact not only are Democrats -- U.S. Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan -- but they also include notable Nevada Republicans: Congressman Jim Gibbons and two prominent rural state lawmakers, Dean Rhoads of Tuscarora and John Marvel of Battle Mountain. The Elko County Commission's continued bullheadedness may play well with a few rabble-rousers in that county, but the commissioners' behavior likely is going to end up alienating them from even some of those who had been supporting their cause.