Habitat threat may halt desert homes

Monday, Nov. 20, 2000 | 11:20 a.m.

Lobbyist Harvey Whittemore's dream of a large golf course community among pristine desert straddling Lincoln and Clark counties could be halted by environmental concerns.

No habitat conservation plan exists for two-thirds of the 42,000 acres Whittemore wants to develop, and no development can begin until one is completed, which is expected to take up to two years.

Whittemore has said he doesn't know how many homes would go up on the property in the Coyote Springs Valley, but published reports have put the number at as many as 50,000 homes.

Even though much environmental work has yet to be done in the Lincoln County portion of the property, Whittemore said today that he has a special permit to build two golf courses on the Clark County portion and is pursuing that development.

Clark County has a plan in place to protect endangered or threatened species, but Lincoln County does not.

Whittemore said he is willing to survey the entire site -- including the 14,000 acres in Clark County -- and put in stricter controls on development, if necessary, if delicate habitat is discovered.

"It's not going to happen in two weeks," Whittemore said.

First, he is trying to finish a memorandum of understanding between federal and county governments to allow construction of the two golf courses on 500 acres in Clark County.

"We are not going to do anything unless everybody agrees to the direction of the development," Whittemore said.

Development could be halted entirely on some portions if the environmental assessment finds endangered or threatened species or sensitive habitat.

Ancticipating such findings, Whittemore has offered to exchange each acre of private land found environmentally sensitive in the northwestern section for four pubic acres nearby.

But Bureau of Land Management officials question whether current law will allow a land exchange as Whittemore proposes.

In 1988, when a rocket motor company wanted to test engines at the site, Congress passed a law that protected the valley's environmentally sensitive center while allowing Aerojet Corp. to experiment on surrounding land.

Congress also placed the land on a lease -- with 189 years left -- so the owner doesn't have to pay for the land, Whittemore said.

But since Aerojet never developed the land, the required environmental studies were not done on the two-thirds of the lands that lie in Lincoln County.

Aerojet sold the land in 1998 to Coyote Springs Investment, a company owned by Whittemore, a partner in the influential law firm Lionel, Sawyer & Collins, and Reno developer David Loeb.

The BLM's Sharon DePinto said Aerojet at one time considered some residential development, but none was pursued.

Now the BLM has asked its regional solicitor whether an exchange of land between Whittemore and the bureau is lawful, DePinto said.

The Southern Nevada Public Lands Act of 1998 requires the BLM to auction its holdings within the Las Vegas Valley to raise money to purchase sensitive parcels, instead of swapping federal lands. BLM officials are not sure whether that act will apply as well to any of Whittemore's holdings, even though they are outside the urban area.

Michael Ford of the Conservation Fund, who is a Whittemore consultant, said the developer is willing to analyze the sensitivity of the habitat on all 42,000 acres before any further talk of land swaps or development occurs. Such an analysis could take up to two years.

Some of Whittemore's land may contain Mojave Desert tortoises, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act. If tortoises or their habitat are found, Whittemore would have to agree to protect the species.

Federal law already restricts development that can occur on land with endangered species, but Whittemore said he is ready to protect the environment above and beyond that.

"Talk of a land exchange is very premature," Ford said. "It is extraordinarily premature to talk about a land exchange, because we don't know what is on the ground."

A tortoise survey began in the first week in October, but the reptiles are hibernating now, Ford said.

"We've started (environmental surveys), but there is a whole host of things we need to do," Ford said. And what scientists find there may change the future use, he said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is helping to assess the natural treasures, Ford said.