Land swap could expand Red Rock border

Monday, Feb. 18, 2002 | 10:38 a.m.

A land swap involving the Howard Hughes Corp., the Bureau of Land Management and Clark County could expand the border of the Red Rock conservation area and provide a public park in the Las Vegas Valley.

The swap would trade 1,071 acres of Hughes' land on the western edge of Summerlin to the BLM to add to the Red Rock National Conservation Area in exchange for a similar amount of land around a ridge in the southwest valley. Federal legislation would grant the ridge to the county for use as a public park.

Hughes Corp. would get land around the park for development.

All four members of Nevada's congressional delegation support the plan. Because the swap hinges on a transfer involving the BLM, legislation and White House approval are needed.

The proposal could be part of a larger Clark County Public Lands bill proposed a year ago by Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Harry Reid, D-Nev. Kai Anderson, Reid's deputy legislative director, said the legislation could be introduced next month.

Although BLM land swaps have in the past been criticized as corporate giveaways, representatives from Hughes, Clark County Comprehensive Planning and local environmentalists praised the land swap as a win for everyone concerned.

"The most valuable thing they are offering is an unimpeded viewscape up to the foothills of the Red Rock mountains," said Jane Feldman, conservation committee co-chairwoman of the local arm of the Sierra Club.

Feldman emphasized that the group isn't endorsing the bill, a step that would require action by the group's national leadership. But she personally sees the swap as "a big positive."

The group has long been concerned about the potential for development along the base of the hills dividing the Red Rock National Conservation Area from Summerlin.

Hughes acquired about 25,000 acres a half century ago from the BLM and, beginning in the early 1990s, built the nation's fastest growing "master planned community" on about 22,500 acres. Other parcels were sold or swapped.

Summerlin, which ultimately could be home to about 160,000 people, is a regional and national benchmark for such communities.

But the land deal that created Summerlin essentially drew straight lines on a map, ignoring the natural topography of the area. That left the hillsides of the Red Rock area open to development.

Hughes officials have said for years that they didn't want to build homes in the hills and destroy the dramatic views from their development -- or from the hills down to the valley.

"It's fantastic for those views," Tom Warden, Hughes vice president, said. "It's really exciting because it seems like it's been long in coming.

"It is what I call 'mountain toes,' the very toes of the mountains that make up Red Rock Canyon," he said. "The fact that the environmental community thinks it's a good idea speaks well of it."

BLM spokeswoman Kirsten Cannon said the drive to protect the views has been the prime motivator for all parties.

Besides Hughes and the BLM, Clark County and Las Vegas government representatives have worked on the deal.

Las Vegas Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald, who represents the half of Summerlin that is in the city, said she has wanted the Red Rock hillsides protected for years. She has taken Boy Scout groups to see some of the archaeological sites hidden in the hills, sites that she hopes can be protected.

"As we continue to develop westward, we are getting closer to many environmentally sensitive areas," she said. "We just don't need to develop that close to those areas."

Boggs McDonald and Clark County staffers also trumpet the creation of the park in the southeast valley, a hoped-for product of the same legislation.

At about 1,250 acres, it would be one of the county's largest. Thanks to its craggy topography that rises several hundred feet from the desert floor, it also provides great views of the valley.

"It gives us spectacular recreational uses and views of the valley," Phil Rosenquist, county assistant planning director, said.

The park also would allow Clark County to connect its trails network, planned to eventually cover hundreds of miles, with federal land in the Spring Mountains to the west, he said.

Details of the planned land exchange are still being developed.

Appraisers need to determine the value of the Hughes land on the Red Rock hills before they can fix the amount of land the company will receive in return, Warden said.

"It's a work in progress," he said. "There's still a lot of detail work. But once the legislation is passed, the exchange could happen within 60 days.

"Theoretically, this could be done as early as this spring," Warden said.