Interior secretary signs plan to protect wildlife and development

Lisa Snedeker

Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2000 | 5:01 a.m.

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt signed one of the nation's largest habitat conservation plans Wednesday in an attempt to protect threatened species while allowing for continued development in the burgeoning Las Vegas Valley.

"This is the most advanced, complete habitat conservation plan in the West," Babbitt said.

Babbitt took a walking tour of the Red Rock National Conservation Area before signing the Clark County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan that he says will guarantee open spaces around Las Vegas, the fastest growing metropolitan area in the nation over the past decade.

"Signing this document also protects the extraordinary landscape," he said, pointing to the coral-colored rock formations located less than 20 miles west of the neon lights of the Las Vegas Strip.

"The are few places in the West that you can drive 10-15 minutes from a city and be out in the wilderness," said Babbitt, adding that Las Vegas' relationship to the surrounding natural landscape is a well-kept secret.

Local, state and federal authorities say the conservation plan shows that development doesn't have to be at odds with the environment. The plan also was signed by Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and county officials.

Officials say the new plan is a variation on conservation plans approved earlier in the decade to protect the threatened desert tortoise.

The Fish and Wildlife Service allowed the county to remove desert tortoises from lands targeted for development. In return, the county set aside areas where the tortoise habitat would be protected.

The new plan eventually could include more than 200 plant and animal species.

The new conservation measures funded by land disturbance fees of $550 an acre will help improve and maintain the status of the protected species that inhabit more than 5 million acres in rural and urban Clark County, county officials said.

Under the new 30-year plan, the county could apply to the Fish and Wildlife Service for a permit to destroy the habitat of 79 plant and animal species. The animals would be relocated and the county would have to assure their protection and survival.

There are 135,000 acres within the permit area that would be available for development.

The 79 species range from the silver-haired bat to the Red Rock Canyon aster and include such birds as the Southwestern willow flycatcher.

Under the first phase of the plan, an additional 103 species will be evaluated for coverage and 51 more will be designated as "watch list species" to be monitored for possible inclusion in the plan.

The plan ends more than a decade of strife over the original desert tortoise listing that nearly halted development in much of the Southwest, including Las Vegas.

"This multiple species plan is really an insurance policy," said Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid of the plan's ability to allow for development.

As part of Babbitt's visit, he also took a tour of the county's desert tortoise relocation area. The Interior Secretary joked that his third visit this year might be the last official visit he makes to the Silver State.

"I'm close to the end of my watch," he said.