Delay sought on desert development

Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2001 | 11:04 a.m.

A Reno-based conservationist has filed an appeal to stop the federal government from turning over any land to a developer of a proposed desert resort and upscale residential community.

Charles Watson, director of the Nevada Outdoor Recreation Association, filed the 12-page appeal Aug. 31. Watson is fighting a proposed 42,000-acre development about 50 miles north of Las Vegas on the Clark-Lincoln county line.

"We've asked for an immediate stay on any new actions affecting the public lands," Watson said.

At issue is the purchase and lease-transfer of land that the federal government bartered to a rocket-motor company in the 1980s. Aerojet General Corp. sold the land and the leases to Coyote Springs Investment three years ago.

Coyote Springs Investment's principal is Harvey Whittemore, a powerful lobbyist for gambling concerns, among other clients. Whittemore already is battling some who are concerned that the potential for 50,000 homes and businesses in the Coyote Springs Valley could siphon off water that could be used in the Las Vegas Valley.

Watson argued in his appeal to the Bureau of Land Management that full environmental reviews have to be done on all decisions affecting the land -- including the Aerojet sale to Whittemore's company.

Watson ties the issue to desert tortoises, which live in the Coyote Springs Valley.

The Aerojet deal was done before the tortoise was listed as a "threatened" animal under the federal Endangered Species Act, Watson said.

BLM Chief of Communications Jo Simpson said from Reno that there is little that her agency can do with Watson's appeal, mostly because the agency hasn't moved forward with land leases that developers are seeking.

An adjustment of the land boundary that is under discussion with Coyote Springs Investment, the BLM and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service -- a land swap designed to help preserve the desert tortoise -- also hasn't been finalized, Simpson said.

She said the Aerojet sale isn't subject to BLM review.

Whittemore agreed.

"There is no land exchange that is the subject of any appeal rights," he said.

He said those opposed to the project -- "who don't understand the project" -- are attempting to slow the pace of development.

"Any delay will potentially impact the financial ability of the project to succeed," Whittemore said. "I'm not surprised that he would attempt to file any action to delay the project."

Whittemore has previously said that he and his partners have put $33 million into the project, and delays cost the investors $1 million every six months.

He predicted that any actions already taken "will be upheld by any reviewing agency or court."

Watson's appeal isn't the only hurdle that the developers must jump. In August, officials from the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service said the developers' applications for up to 109,000 acre-feet of water every year could, if approved, harm rare plants and animals in the Coyote Springs area.

But Whittemore has testified that the development would initially use about 30,000 acre-feet of water per year, and monitor the effect of that use on the underground supply.

Experts have said they don't know how much water is underground at Coyote Springs.

The Las Vegas Valley Water District also is seeking 28,000 acre-feet of water from the Coyote Springs area, and district staffers are concerned the allocations to the developers won't leave much behind for Las Vegas' growing needs.

One acre-foot is about enough water for a family of four or five for one year.

State Engineer Hugh Ricci said a decision on Whittemore's request for the 30,000 acre-feet will come in January or February.