BLM accepts NLV’s land auction request

Monday, May 2, 2005 | 10:48 a.m.

The Bureau of Land Management has agreed to North Las Vegas' request for an auction of 2,900 acres as part of a larger strategy to deal with the rare plants and fossils that postponed a February sale.

To the dismay of some environmentalists, the final agreement may also result in less acreage being set aside for conservation than previous estimates.

The BLM will combine a 2,300-acre site east of the Aliante Master Planned Community with 600 acres west of Aliante for a Nov. 16 auction. The federal agency had planned to auction the parcels separately as part of its customary practice, so no bidders would be excluded in order to fetch the best sales price.

Selling the two parcels as one would enable developers to spread out costs to deal with transplantation and take other steps to protect rare plants and prehistoric fossils, city officials said. The 2,300-acre site has fossils, Las Vegas bearpoppy and buckwheat. The 600-acre site has buckwheat only, officials say.

"I think it is great," said North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon. "The larger the parcel, the bigger the master plan, which means you spread out the expenses. You get a better project with a larger piece."

As part of the agreement with the city, some of the 2,300-acre site will also be set aside for conservation to protect rare plants, said Merv Boyd, the manager of sales and acquisition for the Southern Nevada division of the BLM. But Boyd said the amount of land needed for conservation hasn't been determined. The 600-acre site will have plants transplanted to the conservation area, he said.

Montandon said the acreage needed for conservation constantly changes, but the latest estimate is 280 acres. That's well below the 1,400 acres federal officials had previously said would be needed for conservation but above the 100 acres once cited, city officials said. The 2,300-acre site already has 400 acres that can't be developed because of a drainage basin and the Las Vegas Beltway.

Montandon said no development would be possible if too much land is taken away, but he said plenty is being done for conservation, including the design of roads to preserve plants. Wrought-iron fences for homes will allow for better air circulation, he said, which is better for flora than block walls.

The talks between the city and federal officials are being monitored by environmentalists who fear not enough will be done to preserve the plants in North Las Vegas.

Jane Feldman, conservation chairwoman of the Southern Nevada group of the Sierra Club, said it will be difficult for the fragile plants to survive in such a confined area surrounded by development. She said she prefers no development take place and that the land be preserved. She called for the auction to be delayed until more study is done.

"I am worried about the survival of these populations," Feldman said. "We need to sit down and figure things out before we move forward. Once we lose these plants, the habitat is gone forever. I think it is important to a lot of people that we maintain a healthy environment. We don't want to be a city of asphalt and concrete."

Boyd said the conservation area on the 2,300-acre site will tie in with a 5,000-acre plant and fossil conservation area along the Las Vegas Wash.

"We are going the extra mile to make sure these populations do survive," Boyd said.

North Las Vegas officials have been lobbying for more study before the buckwheat is listed by the state as a critically endangered species. The bearpoppy already has that listing and requires a state permit before it can be removed or destroyed.