The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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Last updated: 04/04/03
Rediscover YOUR Public Lands
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A Southern Nevada land bill "provides a framework" for resolving development-related issues in the Las Vegas Valley, but the legislation needs some "fine-tuning," BLM Deputy Director Mat Millenbach told a House subcommittee today. "We believe that through continuing discussions with the bill's authors in the House and Senate, a final bill can be produced that would receive the Administration's endorsement," Millenbach said in testimony before the House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands.
Millenbach testified on a bill, H.R. 449, known as the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1997, which has been introduced by Nevada Rep. John Ensign. A companion bill, S. 94, is being sponsored in the Senate by Nevada Sens. Richard Bryan and Harry Reid. The legislation is intended to promote the "orderly development" of the Las Vegas Valley -- the fastest growing urban area in the United States -- by requiring the sale, exchange, or transfer of certain BLM-managed lands located in Clark County, Nevada.
In his testimony, Millenbach noted that the Bureau has already been addressing difficult land-ownership patterns in the valley through its draft Resource Management Plan (RMP). Millenbach said the lands specified in the Ensign bill "are nearly identical to those identified for disposal in the RMP."
Millenbach said thousands of acres of BLM-managed land would be affected by the legislation and that the Bureau would like to sell much of this land "in harmony with the needs of the local jurisdictions."
Under the bill, local entities would receive 15 percent of the money from the sale of BLM public lands; the remainder would be used by the Federal Government to enhance natural resource management within Nevada.
Millenbach said the BLM would continue to work with the Nevada congressional delegation to resolve the Bureau's concerns about several provisions in the bill. Among the provisions that Millenbach cited with concern are ones requiring the Secretary of Interior to obtain local government approval before the BLM could proceed with a sale or exchange of public lands; waiving environmental laws in connection with the construction of a youth activity facility; transferring to Clark County, at no cost, 4,600 acres that are located in the Las Vegas Airport noise area; and allowing affordable housing to be an acceptable use of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act.
Overall, Millenbach said, the bill "provides a framework to allow for a fair approach to dealing with the situation in the Las Vegas area." With the necessary revisions, the legislation will "benefit the American people and the local community as well," Millenbach said.
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