Wednesday, October 30, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Ensign says county underutilizing law

Senator wants additional land bought

Clark County was supposed to have priority in acquiring environmentally sensitive land under a 1998 law authored by U.S. Sen. John Ensign.

But under a proposal awaiting approval by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, the Nevada Republican said, Southern Nevada will not get its fair share of federal dollars this year though the legislation.

Ensign said Clark County has not sought land aggressively for purchase, requesting only 975 acres for the current round of acquisitions. That total represents 4 percent of 28,648 acres under the proposal before Norton. The remaining 96 percent of the land is in other counties, including 20,500 acres in Washoe County.

Ensign has asked the Interior Department to halt consideration of the land acquisition list and provide Clark County another chance to apply for more land this year.

"When I was first made aware of the BLM's list, I said, 'What's going on here?' " Ensign said. "Ninety-six percent of the lands on that list were outside of Clark County. ... We found out that Clark County didn't submit hardly any of their requests. If the county doesn't put it on their acquisition list, it's hard for the BLM to consider it."

Ensign said he was upset because "there's a lot of parcels in Southern Nevada that can be put on that list."

"We fully intend for it to be remedied," Ensign said.

The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act reformed the land exchanging that made fortunes for developers and shortchanged taxpayers millions of dollars. Under Ensign's legislation, the proceeds from sales and auctions of surplus federal land in Clark County can be used to buy environmentally sensitive lands, develop recreational areas and pay for other projects.

Since the law was enacted, some 3,000 acres of Clark County land have been sold for nearly $187 million.

Ensign said he is unhappy with Clark County and the Bureau of Land Management. He thinks the county should have been more aggressive in identifying land for acquisition, and the BLM should have done more to ensure the list favored the county, as the law allows.

BLM state Director Bob Abbey said nearly every request for acquisition of Clark County parcels has been approved.

Based on Ensign's request, Norton is expected to ask the BLM to open the land acquisition list for 30 days to solicit more applications from Clark County, Abbey said.

Ensign asked for the reconsideration about six weeks ago. Among the tracts of land he said the county might request are the Jim Hardie Gypsum Mine site and land for a regional wetlands park that is on the Nov. 5 ballot as part of a bond issue request.

Question 1 asks voters to approve $200 million in bonds for parks, wildlife, culture and recreation. The owner of a $200,000 home would pay an additional $18 a year to pay for state projects including two in Clark County: $25 million for the Las Vegas Springs Preserve and $10 million for the wetlands park site.

Assistant County Manager Rick Holmes said the county could have asked for $10 million to develop the wetlands park at the Las Vegas Wash, but the bond question provides more certainty. "It's safer to have it earmarked and bonded through the ballot question than hope we might get some lands under the Public Land Management Act," he said.

In the first two years, the balance of the land acquisition list tilted more favorably toward Clark County. In 2000, $10.8 million in Clark County land was acquired, and $13.2 million was spent in the rest of the state.

In 2001, $17.4 million worth of land acquisitions were approved for Clark County, and $10.2 million in land was bought in the rest of the state.

The 2002 list awaiting approval included requests for nearly $80 million in land purchases, with $26.7 million worth of Clark County acreage.

The biggest benefactor in the current round of acquisitions would be Washoe County, which would receive 91 percent of the land sought at a value of $31.7 million.

In the fourth round, Clark County is seeking $26 million in land acquisitions.

Under the land management act, 85 percent of the money generated through the auction of public lands or exchanges in the Las Vegas Valley go to a special account, and Clark County has the priority to use it.

The law states the money can be used to do the following:

• Acquire environmentally sensitive land, with priority given to lands in Clark County.

• Make capital improvements to lands in Clark County administered by the Bureau of Land Management, such as Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

• Develop a multiple-species habitat conservation plan in Clark County.

• Develop parks, trails and natural areas in Clark County.

"It sounds to me like the county has dropped the ball to some extent," said Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury. "I don't excuse any of us (commissioners) in that regard."

He was commission chairman during the first round of acquisitions in 2000, when the county made applications.

"Why it turned out Clark County lands were not involved this time to any extent, I don't know, but there are a a lot of environmentally sensitive lands in Clark County we would like to acquire," Woodbury said.

GOP congressional candidate Jon Porter sought to blame his political rival, Dario Herrera, a Democrat and the current chairman of the commission.

"During Dario's watch, we lost millions of dollars. I think he has to be responsible," Porter said. "I believe he was asleep at the switch."

Herrera said he was "surprised a man who has run for Congress twice already (Porter) doesn't know how the public lands management act works. If he'd done his homework, he'd understand it's a staff-driven process."

Holmes and Comprehensive Planning Director John Schlegel rejected any suggestion the county dropped the ball.

Alan O'Neill, executive director of the Outside Las Vegas Foundation, a nonprofit group that nominated two of the 10 parcels requested, agreed with the county officials. "I think Clark County has done a great job handling this and looking at what's good for the whole valley," O'Neill said.

Holmes and Schlegel said the county would review its list of environmentally sensitive property and perhaps look at the list for the fourth round of acquisitions and move those up.

"From our point of view, we're not an advocate of this money going north," Schlegel said. "We'd prefer if more money stayed in Southern Nevada."

The county officials said they rely on federal agencies to identify land to be bought. "They are the ones that know their lands and know which are environmentally sensitive," Schlegel said.

Schlegel and Holmes said the process is handled by staff and endorsed by the commission. "If anyone should be blamed, it should be staff," Schlegel said.

A federal lands subcommittee makes recommendations for acquisitions. The members include the chairman of the commission and the mayors of the cities. The entire commission then approves the request.

Washoe County nominated certain tracts, but the 10 tracts currently nominated were submitted by Nature Conservancy, the National Park Service, Outside Las Vegas Foundation, the Forest Service and Milon Inc./Tiberti.

Clark County did not nominate any tracts but worked with other groups in compiling the list.

"We didn't drop the ball; it's just a question of who is in the lead and who's name is on the request," Holmes said.