Lawmakers launch new heliport effort

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, Feb. 17, 2005 | 9:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Nevada lawmakers are again trying to pass legislation that would establish a heliport near Sloan, despite lingering objections to the plan by environmental groups and the Bush administration.

The bill died in Congress last year.

The legislation would transfer 229 acres owned by the Bureau of Land Management to Clark County to construct a new base for Grand Canyon helicopter tour operators, who now fly out of McCarran International Airport. Valley residents have complained about the noise.

Nevada's five lawmakers in Congress re-introduced the bill Wednesday, again including language designed to sweeten the bill for environmentalists.

The bill limits flights over Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area to flight paths within certain boundaries. Pilots would be required to fly at least 500 feet above the conservation area. The bill also directs pilots to avoid flying over the most sensitive wildlife areas. A $3-per-passenger fee would be funneled to the Interior Department for wilderness management on Nevada public lands.

But environmental activists are worried about how the helicopter flights will affect the 48,000-acre conservation area and the federally protected 15,000-acre North McCullough Wilderness Area within the conservation area. The flights would ruin the area for hiking, they have said. They also worry about flights over sensitive desert petroglyphs. The area contains about 300 of the ancient rock art panels.

The re-introduction of the bill was "somewhat of a surprise," said Kevin Mack, a Washington representative of the group Nevada Wilderness Project.

"We think that it's unfortunate that they are settling on this site," he said.

The lawmakers originally considered 13 potential heliport sites and have struggled for several years to find one suitable to both city residents who object to noise and environmentalists who don't want helicopters rumbling over protected desert.

The conservation area is home to cacti, desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, Joshua trees at higher elevations -- and rugged terrain that is a local favorite of hikers.

"The only thing that would make the bill better is to move the site," Mack said. "When it comes down to it, the sheer number of flights over the conservation area is troubling."

The bill is a compromise, the lawmakers said. It will not "adversely affect our environment or residential areas," Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said the bill will "accommodate a booming Nevada business and protect our natural resources."

The bill faces some opposition from the Bureau of Land Management, which as a matter of policy formally objects to conveying land to the county for free. The Sloan land is worth an estimated $57 million.

In September, Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Scott Cameron also told a Senate panel that helicopters could diminish the wilderness atmosphere that Congress sought to protect when it created the conservation area three years ago.

The proposed heliport site is just south of the Henderson city limit and east of Interstate 15. Among the other sites considered was a site near the Sunrise landfill, but nearby residents also objected to that site, Nevada congressional aides said.

Tour operator John Sullivan said he would prefer to remain at McCarran -- close to customers on the Strip. But he said he would be content with the Sloan site.

"It's a beautiful stretch of desert," said Sullivan, chief executive of Sundance Helicopters, one of four operators based at McCarran.

Sullivan, whose company makes about 30 trips to the Grand Canyon on a good day, is sensitive to both the noise objections made by residents and the environmentalist complaints, he said.

"We're happy to remain in the urban environment, but it's a trade-off for the community," he said.

Nevada lawmakers are "hopeful" the bill will move quickly through Congress.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said the bill contained suitable compromises. The bill also protects the tour operators, Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said.

"Our thriving tourism industry in Southern Nevada depends upon many of the services that air tour operators provide, which attract many visitors domestically and abroad," Porter said.