Swap proposed for more Red Rock acreage

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 | 9:21 a.m.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., has moved to swap federal land in the southeast Las Vegas Valley for private land outside Red Rock Canyon, a move widely supported as a way to protect the canyon's conservation area.

Legislation to be introduced by Gibbons today would expand the boundaries of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area by about 1,000 acres and provide 1,250 acres of federal land for a Clark County park in the southeast valley.

It would also provide about 1,100 acres for the Howard Hughes Corp. to develop. Hughes would give up property on the west edge of Summerlin in the land swap.

Although land swaps have sparked controversy in the past, environmentalists, the developer and local and federal representatives agree that the move would be a boon for valley residents.

"It's a great opportunity for the county and for the residents and for everybody concerned," said Tom Warden, Hughes vice president.

Chuck Williams, president of the nonprofit group Friends of Red Rock Canyon, said conservationists have eyed the rocky hillsides for years.

"It's an archaeologically sensitive area, Little Red Rock," Williams said. "It would be good to protect it."

Nevada Sens. Harry Reid, Democratic whip, and John Ensign, a Republican, have said they support the land swap -- but have suggested it should be part of a larger Clark County public lands bill that they are working on.

Staff for Reid and Ensign, busy with the Yucca Mountain nuclear dump issue, were not available for comment Tuesday. Reid spokesman Nathan Naylor said last week that negotiations on the public lands bill have been contentious, particularly over the issue of how much land should be declared federally protected "wilderness."

Gibbons said the Bureau of Land Management-Summerlin land swap would get lost in a larger lands bill.

"When you have a large lands bill like they are proposing, the larger the bill the more complex it can become," Gibbons said. "We want to keep it simple. This is a little matter that is easily handled and supported by the administration."

Clint Bentley, director of the Nevada Land Users Coalition, agreed.

"If it gets tied up in the public lands bill, it could get lost or changed," he said.

The Nevada Land Users Coalition is squaring off against environmentalists on the issue of how much land in Clark County should be designated wilderness.

Shaaron Netherton, executive director of the Friends of Nevada Wilderness, supports the BLM-Hughes swap but argued that it should be part of the Reid-Ensign legislation.

The Gibbons bill, the public lands bill and separate legislation creating a shooting range in the northern Las Vegas Valley "are all very interrelated," Netherton said.

"They should be kept together so you can get a big picture idea of what's happening," she said.

But Netherton said the issues between the House and Senate can be resolved.

Jeff Harris, Clark County Parks Department planning manager, hopes so. He believes the swap could provide residents and visitors with unparalleled opportunities for hiking and views of the valley.

"It is a good thing," he said. "The area that would come to the county is basically along the west slope of the valley. The county would maintain that area as open space, and eventually build a trail system through the area."

The county trail system would be five to 10 miles, and would be a gateway to the 50 miles of trails in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Phillip Guerrero, BLM spokesman, said the swap would help protect the conservation area.

"This will provide a little bit of space on the west side of the valley to keep Red Rock pristine," he said.

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