Bush backs preservation of Lake Tahoe

Brendan Riley

Thursday, June 1, 2000 | 3:07 a.m.

SAND HARBOR STATE PARK, Nev. - Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush promised to support Lake Tahoe preservation efforts as he showed up for a fund-raiser Thursday at the scenic mountain lake.

But Bush had nothing new to say on other key Nevada issues - including gambling and the potential storage of high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.

Asked about the nuclear dump, Bush said, "You have my statement." Earlier, he had said science and not politics should dictate the dump's future.

But Bush hasn't commented on efforts to weaken federal Environmental Protection Agency controls over nuclear waste storage. President Clinton, in vetoing a waste bill targeting Nevada for thousands of tons of the wasste, said the measure would have weakened the EPA controls.

On Lake Tahoe, Bush said he would work with Gov. Kenny Guinn and Nevada's congressional delegation on various preservation programs.

He said President Clinton had made promises about Lake Tahoe that he "doesn't intend to keep. When I said I'm going to work with the congressional delegation and the governor, I'm going tokeep my commitment."

Bush spoke briefly with reporters following a speech in which he proposed tax incentives for private conservation efforts and more money for federal programs to promote preservation instead of simply placing land off-limits by federal order.

He also criticized the Clinton-Gore administration, which he said has steadily increased the government's grasp on forests, monument properties and seashores.

During his first campaign stop in Nevada, the Texas governor spoke to about 200 invited guests at Sand Harbor state park, on the lake's east shore.

He then headed for a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser for about 300 supporters at nearby Glenbrook. The event was held at property owned by Larry Ruvo, a major Nevada liquor distributor whose big clients are hotel-casinos. Other organizers included casino owners and lobbyists.

Democrats organized a rally at the entrance to the exclusive Tahoe community to criticize Bush's environmental record. While Bush has defended his record on the environment as Texas governor, Democrats claim he'd be soft on polluters if elected president.

Bush also scheduled a second, smaller fund-raiser for Republican candidates that called for donations of $20,000 a couple.

Gov. Guinn said the visit by Bush is important for Nevada and especially important for Lake Tahoe.

In visiting Tahoe, Bush borrowed an idea from Clinton and Gore, who were at the lake, on the California-Nevada border, for an environmental summit meeting in 1997.

Guinn also said he hadn't expected Bush to expand on his position on the future of a nuclear waste dump at Nevada's Yucca Mountain.

Bush said May 3 that, if elected president, he wouldn't sign legislation that "would send nuclear waste to any proposed site unless it's been deemed scientifically safe."

Guinn said the statement shows that Bush would be opposed to a dump in Nevada without proof of its safety, a position similar to that held by President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, the likely Democratic nominee for president.