Lincoln County officials plan use for land-sale money

Stephen Curran

Thursday, Oct. 28, 2004 | 9:28 a.m.

Lincoln County commissioners on Wednesday outlined plans for the county's share of more than $1 billion in federal land sales.

The Lincoln County Land Act, which was approved by the Senate on Oct. 10, is a revised version of the 1998 Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, which set the rules for selling up to 90,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land.

Under the rules approved by the Senate, the BLM would receive 85 percent of the proceeds for Nevada projects, while Lincoln County would receive 10 percent. The remaining 5 percent would be deposited in a state education fund.

The exact amount Lincoln County would receive remains uncertain because a separate version that would set aside 50 percent for BLM programs and 45 percent for the rural county is marching through the House.

Kirsten Cannon, a spokeswoman for the BLM, said there were "too many variables" to estimate how much money Lincoln County could possibly receive until a version of the land act is approved.

Those variables include allocations from a variety of sources that make an early figure difficult to pinpoint, she said.

"We won't know until the bill passes how much they would be able to access," Cannon said. "It's just a little out there."

Commissioners at Wednesday's meeting discussed limitations on how they could spend the money but no decisions were made. On the table are possible infrastructure improvements that could include roadside rest stops and visitors centers, Lincoln County Commissioner Tommy Rowe said.

Without an approved version of the land act in place, it is difficult to speculate on what limitations are likely, although they could restrict commissioners to improving park land and not constructing new buildings, Cannon said.

What kind of project commissioners eventually approve will depend largely on the restrictions placed on the money, Rowe said.

"Our biggest concern is if we get a project funded, how are we going to be able to support this project in the future?" Rowe said. "The maintenance of this stuff is always what takes the most money. From what I understand we can't use it for maintenance."

Lincoln County also could have a stake in the yet-unknown profit from Clark County land sales.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., recommended in April that $233 million be set aside from the sale of federal land in Clark County for 29 new parks and recreation projects in the Las Vegas Valley.

The BLM in July opted to use $1.5 million of its share to revamp the Red Springs picnic area within the Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area, a four-stage project expected to be completed early next year.