Editorial: Saving wetlands is essential

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2000 | 9:14 a.m.

In an election year when partisan bickering in Congress resulted in legislative gridlock, it was encouraging to see the House pass landmark legislation last week that hopefully will jump-start efforts to revitalize the Florida Everglades. More than $7 billion will be spent on projects over the next three decades in a bid to recover and restore wildlife and estuaries that have been destroyed by several decades of development and agricultural use, which has depleted water from the "River of Grass."

Passage of the legislation was threatened, though, because the House added 52 other water restoration projects costing an additional $470 million. Many of these other public works water projects were stripped from the bill by the Senate. But in a compromise, 28 were left, including an important appropriation to move along the process of restoring the diminishing wetlands of the Las Vegas Wash. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said she was able to get $10 million back into the legislation that will be used to put together a water resources plan adopted by the Las Vegas Wash Coordinating Committee.

It's critical that the Las Vegas Wash's problems be tackled. For instance, in only 20 years the wetlands in the Las Vegas Wash have shrunk from 2,000 acres to less than 200 acres today. Not only has the dissipation of wetlands harmed wildlife habitat, but the loss of wetlands also affects the quality of drinking water. The wetlands in the wash are a natural filter, absorbing much of the urban runoff and polluted ground water that otherwise would flow into the Las Vegas Wash. The water from the wash, in turn, empties into Lake Mead, which is the primary source of our drinking water.

When compared to the multibillion-dollar appropriation for the Everglades, the $10 million appropriation for the Las Vegas Wash might seem like a drop in the bucket, especially since it's been estimated that it could cost more than $150 million to restore the wetlands. But the fact is these kinds of monumental efforts aren't easy to begin since they require coordination among governments at the local, state and federal levels. One of the toughest tasks is establishing at the outset how much each government will be responsible for in paying to build these costly environmental restoration projects. Last week's passage of the Everglades legislation, which President Clinton is expected to sign, should provide optimism for those Southern Nevadans who want to see a similar bipartisan approach in restoring the Las Vegas Wash's wetlands.