Deal to save sensitive Nevada land finalized

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, June 26, 2001 | 10:55 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Interior Secretary Gale Norton today signed a document that will protect $27 million worth of sensitive lands in Nevada, including 13 parcels in Clark County.

Her pen stroke finalized the latest development created by an unusual 1998 agreement between the federal government and state of Nevada in which the Bureau of Land Management sells thousands of acres of public land to private bidders for development.

The Interior Department then uses the cash proceeds to buy up endangered lands around Nevada and make capital improvements on other public lands within the state.

The first land sale was in November 1999; four more sales have followed. The most recent last month netted $58.4 million.

Today Norton authorized about $45 million in spending: $27 million for sensitive land buys; $8 million for parks, trails and other nature areas; $5.25 million for capital projects and $4.6 million for the multispecies habitat conservation in Clark County.

Clark County land buys include:

* $2.75 million paid for 529 acres owned by UNLV at Sunrise Mountain, to be protected for its recreation and scenic value, as well as a home to the rare plant, Las Vegas bear poppy.

* $865,000 for 865 acres owned by a private-land owner in the South Virgin Mountains, to protect desert tortoise and bighorn sheep.

* $9.5 million for the 165-acre Torino Ranch in the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area, owned by Lovell Canyon Residential LLC, to protect wildlife and recreation areas.

* $2 million for the 391-acre Perkins Ranch near Moapa owned by Nevada Power, to protect threatened and endangered species including the Southwestern Willow flycatcher bird.

A number of the improvement projects will be at Lake Mead, including protecting areas from illegal off-road vehicle use; improving a historic railroad trail to Hoover Dam; and construction of a government boating repair complex.

Others include:

* $400,000 for a water safety center at Lake Mead.

* $365,000 for a campground at Lake Mead.

* $250,000 for shoreline protection at Stewart Point at Lake Mead.

* $350,000 for painting at the Kyle Canyon visitor center in the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area.

* $317,000 to replace a boat ramps at Lake Mead.

The framework of the federal-state lands arrangement was established by the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998, which Norton called a "visionary law."

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., called it a "monumental" piece of legislation that will funnel much-needed federal money to the state. Lake Mead is in special need for project money, Berkley said.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., a representative in 1998, and former Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., were the primary architects of the lands act. They were also the act's biggest advocates, despite political opposition, including some opposition from then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.

"The only way it (passed) was having a Republican and a Democrat working together," Ensign said.

Ensign today joined Berkley and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., Nevada BLM officials and Norton at a document-signing ceremony at the Interior Department.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., unable to attend, said in a statement, "Making smart investments in our public lands, as we are doing today, will provide valuable conservation, recreation, and quality of life dividends for Nevadans and all Americans for generations to come."