Water key issue as BLM studies future land sales

Friday, Oct. 3, 2003 | 9:14 a.m.

The four-year-long drought was on the minds of those attending Bureau of Land Management workshops this week on the possibility of opening 50,000 acres of public land to development.

They questioned whether the Las Vegas Valley has enough water available to grow further.

The BLM held the workshops as it prepares to survey thousands of acres of land that may be eligible for sale some day. Areas north and south of the Las Vegas Valley have not been studied, Jeff Steinmetz, BLM environmental protection specialist, said.

"It's one of the largest surveys the BLM has ever undertaken," Steinmetz said.

These early workshops were designed to help the BLM find, inventory and protect environmentally sensitive areas and cultural resources, Jackie Gratton of the BLM's lands division, said.

Steve Collins was typical of those who questioned BLM biologists, archaeologists and hydrologists.

"I think our biggest problem is growth," Collins said Thursday night at the Henderson Convention Center. "Vegas wants to grow, but we have water problems."

The Las Vegas Valley and the Southwest have experienced four years of drought with no end in sight.

"Water is one of the big ones," BLM archaeologist Stan Rolf said after listening to residents at Thursday's workshop.

A two-year Las Vegas resident, Collins moved to Southern Nevada from Tucson. Although Tucson is a desert community, it relies on ground water. The drain by residents on the water supply there has caused the land to drop, in some places as much as 20 feet, he said.

"As a biologist I'm particularly concerned about the desert tortoise and destroying its habitat," Collins said.

In order to protect environmentally sensitive areas such as Tule Springs in the northwest valley and Blue Diamond cholla habitat south of Las Vegas, the BLM could suggest certain areas be turned into regional parks, Rolf said.

"We're going to preserve resources such as Tule Springs," Rolf said, noting that fossils such as mammoths, camels and horses as well as snakes, frogs and other water creatures have been found in the area during the past century.

By creating a regional park, the BLM could offer educational tools to the community and the tourists who come to Las Vegas looking for more than slot machines, Rolf said.

"We might be able to better manage these areas," Rolf said.