[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 83 (Wednesday, June 16, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6898-S6901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ENSIGN (for himself and Mr. Reid):
  S. 2532. A bill to establish wilderness areas, promote conservation, 
improve public land, and provide for the high quality development in 
Lincoln County, Nevada, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, today I rise with my good friend Senator 
Ensign to co-sponsor a bill that is important to Lincoln County, 
important to Southern Nevada, and important to America.
  The Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act of 
2004 accommodates southern Nevada's growth and meets our conservation 
challenges. I am pleased that Congressman Gibbons, Congresswoman 
Berkley and Congressman Porter are introducing companion legislation in 
the House of Representatives today. We are working together on a 
bipartisan basis to reach fair compromises on a number of difficult 
issues.
  The Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act 
represents a comprehensive plan that balances the needs for 
infrastructure development, recreation opportunities, and conservation 
of our natural resources and public lands in Lincoln County, Nevada. 
Our bill is a broad-based compromise. It creates utility corridors, 
resolves wilderness study area issues, provides for competitive, 
Federal land sales, designates a back country off-highway vehicle trail 
and provides for the conveyance of federal land to the State of Nevada 
and Lincoln County for use as public parks.
  We do not expect everyone to advocate every provision of this bill. 
In fact, I don't imagine that anyone will champion every provision of 
this bill. It is a tough compromise and it is a good bill.

[[Page S6899]]

  I will preface my description of the titles of this bill by reviewing 
the challenges that public land issues pose in Nevada. Nearly 9 out of 
every 10 acres in our State are owned and managed by the Federal 
Government. This includes land managed by the U.S. Forest Service, the 
Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of 
Energy, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force.
  In Lincoln County, the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife 
Service and Department of Defense manage 49 out of every 50 acres--98 
percent of the total land area.
  Unlike most of America where land use decisions are made by local 
communities, many land use decisions in Nevada require concurrence of 
Federal officials and, in some cases, the passage of Federal laws. The 
Ely Field and the State offices of the BLM bear tremendous 
responsibilities with respect to the management, development, and 
conservation of natural resources in eastern Nevada, particularly in 
Lincoln County. Many of my colleagues from western states identify with 
the challenges and benefits of Federal land ownership.
  In Lincoln County these challenges are compounded by rapid growth and 
a fragile ecology: The neighboring Las Vegas valley is the fastest 
growing community in the nation, and the Mojave Desert is one of North 
America's most extreme and vulnerable regions.
  Many people believe this scenario poses an impossible challenge for 
Lincoln County. Some believe that managing growth in southern Nevada 
and protecting our desert for future generations are mutually 
exclusive. Some believe that protecting our air and water quality and 
recognizing that some open space should be set aside as wilderness are 
prohibitive barriers to growth that will unnecessarily restrict 
recreation. Some believe that the federal management of public land is 
too strict; others find it too lenient.
  Some believe that every acre of Lincoln County should be privatized. 
Some believe that not a single acre should be auctioned from the public 
domain. The only common thread in these views is that they are 
perspectives passionately held by Nevadans.
  I hope this context illustrates why compromise is not just desirable 
but necessary.
  We fully expect some criticism for what this bill does not do. For 
example, it does not designate the more than 2.5 million acres that the 
Nevada Wilderness Coalition advocates in Lincoln County. Nor does the 
bill release all the wilderness study areas in Lincoln County as others 
advocate. Our compromise is fair, forward-looking and provides for 
conservation, recreation and development in Lincoln County and for 
southern Nevada.
  The Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act will 
enhance our quality of life, protect our environment for our children 
and grandchildren, and make public land available for housing, growth 
of the industrial base and infrastructure to meet community needs.
  As I discuss each title of this bill, I will explain how these 
provisions reflect our shared effort to improve the quality of life and 
enhance economic opportunities for Nevadans while enriching and 
protecting the awe-inspiring natural and cultural resources with which 
southern Nevada is blessed. This bill will benefit Nevadans today, and 
for generations to come.

                          TITLE I--LAND SALES

  The first title of our bill serves to increase the percentage of 
privately held ground in Lincoln County so local property taxes can 
better sustain basic governmental services. Some people oppose selling 
Federal land under any circumstances. However, in a case such as 
Lincoln County, where 98 percent of the 6.8 million acres is federally 
owned, blind and blanket opposition to land sales simply defies common 
sense.
  Our bill makes available for auction up to about 90,000 acres, 
currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Further, the bill 
directs the BLM to proceed with the auctions required by the Lincoln 
County Land Act of 2000.
  With respect to the 90,000 acres to be auctioned within Lincoln 
County, we provide for annual auctions until the acreage is sold or the 
County determines it prefers for the land to remain in Federal 
ownership. The bill does not stipulate how much acreage should or could 
be sold in a given year, or exactly which parcels of land should be 
sold, because those decisions are better left to the County, the 
municipalities, and citizens working in cooperation with the BLM.
  This basic framework for so-called joint selection has worked very 
well in Clark County and we expect that it will be similarly successful 
in Lincoln County. This bill will greatly enhance the self 
determination of communities in Lincoln County.
  The bill includes a provision that allows the Federal Government to 
retain up to 10,000 acres of the 90,000 set aside for disposal based on 
natural and cultural resource values. For example, if the land disposal 
areas in this bill include, unbeknownst to us, a significant petroglyph 
site or a population of a threatened or endangered species, the 
Secretary could choose to retain ownership.
  As I have noted before on this floor, when Congress passed the 
Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act of 1998, it established a 
new paradigm for the sale of public lands in Clark County, Nevada. One 
of the core principles of this new way of doing business was that the 
proceeds from the sale of Federal lands should be reinvested in 
Federal, State, and local environmental protection, infrastructure and 
recreational enhancements in the areas and communities where the lands 
are sold.
  This bill is patterned after that law and provides a revenue source 
for following through on the various provisions of this bill such as 
the creation and management of an off-highway vehicle route and new 
wilderness areas.

                          TITLE II--WILDERNESS

  Nevada has more than 80 wilderness study areas on Federal land across 
the State. These areas, which are primarily owned by the Bureau of Land 
Management, are managed to protect wilderness character land. These 
areas remain as de facto wilderness until Congress passes legislation 
either designating the land as wilderness or releasing the land from 
wilderness study area consideration.
  Although there is broad support for addressing Nevada's wilderness 
study areas through Federal legislation, there is no consensus on how 
to do so. Those who advocate for wilderness designation and those who 
oppose further additions to the wilderness system hold strong and, in 
may cases, irreconcilable views on this issue.
  Those of us who wrote this bill hold different views regarding 
wilderness. In developing the wilderness component of this bill, 
Senator Ensign, Congressman Gibbons and I made compromises that will 
concern all interested parties. Our bill designates more wilderness 
than some advocates can support, and it falls short of the 2.5 million 
acres that some wilderness proponents are fighting to designate in 
Lincoln County alone. In any case, this bill is a critical step toward 
addressing the outstanding wilderness study issues in the state of 
Nevada.
  Our bill designates wilderness and releases wilderness study areas. 
It designates 14 wilderness areas, all of which are under the purview 
of the Bureau of Land Management, totaling roughly 770,000 acres. The 
bill releases roughly 246,000 acres from wilderness study area status, 
including four BLM study areas which are released in their entirety and 
portions of other WSAs throughout Lincoln County. This legislation 
resolves all but two of the wilderness study areas in Lincoln County. 
Those two areas, Mt. Grafton WSA and the South Egans WSA are more than 
half in White Pine County and will be addressed when the Congressional 
delegation creates a public land bill for White Pine County.
  Our bill provides for wilderness management protocols that address 
the particular circumstances of southern Nevada much as we did in the 
Clark County Conservation of Public Lands Act of 2002. For example, we 
explicitly require the Secretary of Interior to allow for the 
construction, maintenance and replacement of water catchments known as 
guzzlers when and where that action will enhance wilderness wildlife 
resources, such as bighorn sheep. In addition, we believe that the use 
of motor vehicles should be allowed to achieve these purposes when 
there is no reasonable alternative and it does not require the creation 
of new roads.

[[Page S6900]]

  Some wilderness purists argue that these man-made water projects 
disturb the ecosystems of the Mojave Desert. I believe that guzzlers 
can actually help restore more natural function to ecosystems that have 
been forever fragmented by development. These projects, which are 
privately funded and hand built by dedicated conservationists, have a 
legitimate place in southern Nevada wilderness and our bill is clear on 
that point.
  In our effort to create a fair wilderness designation, we have 
benefited from the advice and suggestions of many Nevadans representing 
a spectrum of views. These advocates include the Nevada Land Users 
Coalition, the Lincoln County Commission, The Nevada Wilderness 
Project, The Fraternity of Desert Bighorns, the State of Nevada, Red 
Rock Audubon, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, Lincoln County residents, 
Partners in Conservation, ranchers and miners, to name just a few.
  Although our compromise does not mirror the specifics of any 
stakeholder wilderness proposal, it does reflect careful consideration 
of the constructive suggestions and ideas offered by interested 
Nevadans. We appreciate their help, and our compromise honors our 
commitment to listen carefully to all parties. We are also grateful for 
the help we have received from the Federal land managers in Lincoln 
County. We look forward to working with them to improve this bill in 
ways that will make their jobs easier, and enhance the experience of 
those who use public land.

                      TITLE III--UTILITY CORRIDORS

  The third title of this legislation establishes rights-of-way on 
Federal land within discrete multi-purpose utility corridors in Lincoln 
and Clark Counties. By designating these corridors, this bill serves to 
consolidate the process for establishing utility corridors and rights-
of-way on the BLM land in question.
  I would like to spend a few moments elaborating on what we do and do 
not intend this bill to accomplish with respect to utility corridors 
and rights-of-way.
  Last year the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Lincoln County 
Commission signed an agreement ending a number of decades-old 
groundwater disputes in Lincoln County. As a result of this agreement 
various protests and counter-protests between Southern Nevada Water 
Authority and Lincoln County were amicably resolved. Subsequent to 
reaching this agreement, the SNWA and Lincoln County requested that the 
Nevada Congressional delegation introduce legislation to help put their 
plans into action.
  This bill partly satisfies those requests. It does not, however, 
provide for everything either the SNWA or Lincoln County Commission 
wanted. For example, it provides substantially fewer miles of corridor 
than they requested and focuses specifically on corridors for trunk 
lines. This is analogous to painting the trunk and major limbs of a 
tree but not the branches, twigs and leaves. We provide routes for 
arterial water pipelines, but not for every well pad and secondary 
feeder.
  This legislation relocates an existing utility corridor from the east 
to the west side of Highway 93 between the Highway 93 Highway 168 
junction and the Kane Springs Road Highway 93 junction. This returns 
the utility corridor to its original location prior to passage of the 
Florida-Nevada Land Exchange bill. The owners of the private property 
currently encumbered by the utility corridor will pay the Federal 
Government fair market value for the appreciation of their property due 
to this provision.
  Our bill stipulates that prior to the designation of any right-of-way 
provided for in this bill, the proponents must complete a full 
environmental impact statement pursuant to the provisions of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Our bill is not intended to 
provide short cuts around Federal environmental laws. Rather it 
recognizes that one comprehensive environmental statement regarding the 
impact of water utility corridors and water development in Lincoln 
County is necessary, but that environmental reviews for the 
establishment of utility corridors and permission to build pipelines 
need not be conducted separately.
  It is also worth noting that our bill explicitly recognizes the role 
the State Engineer plays in Nevada water law, and makes it crystal 
clear that this bill is not intended to influence his decisions 
regarding water rights adjudications or any of his other important 
responsibilities.
  Finally, our bill authorizes the United States Geological Survey to 
conduct a hydrogeologic study of the water resources in White Pine 
County. This study should establish greater certainty regarding the 
water resources of east-central Nevada, and provide a basis for 
increasingly well-informed resource decisions in the future.

            TITLE IV--SILVER STATE OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE TRAIL

  This bill establishes an off-highway vehicle route in central Lincoln 
County as the Silver State Off-Highway Vehicle Trail. The Silver State 
Trail is a combination of existing back-country roads that are 
currently open and being used.
  Sadly, much of rural Nevada is suffering the consequences of 
uncontrolled off-road vehicle use. Lincoln County is no different. And 
as more and more Nevadans seek recreation opportunities in Lincoln 
County, this situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.
  Many public land users enjoy back-country, motorized travel and the 
vast majority of these citizens treat public lands with respect and 
care. Some of these responsible stewards helped us design this route.
  The Silver State Trail will serve as both a recreational and 
educational resource. It will be open to the full range of 
recreationists including off-highway vehicle users and mountain bikers. 
By providing an appropriate place for off-highway vehicle enthusiasts 
to explore Lincoln County, this bill will help locally focus off-
highway vehicle use on our public lands and educate public land users.
  Interested citizens will work with the Bureau of Land Management and 
local governments to develop a management plan for the Silver State 
Trail. This plan will increase recreational use and mitigate the 
negative impacts of such activity. If this Silver State Trail is not 
established, off-highway vehicle use will not go away; it will just do 
more damage, in many cases unintended and avoidable damage, to our 
public lands. I hope this trail will give public land users additional 
opportunities to develop a deeper and better appreciation for the 
Mojave Desert and how it can be used and how it must be protected.

               TITLE V--STATE AND COUNTY PARK CONVEYANCES

  Our bill includes a title dedicated to the creation of parks for 
Lincoln County and the State of Nevada. In the case of Nevada State 
Parks, we provide for the conveyance of three parcels of land that are 
currently leased to the State of Nevada by the Bureau of Land 
Management. These conveyances are contingent upon agreement between 
Lincoln County and the State of Nevada supporting the ownership 
transfers. In the case of Lincoln County, this bill provides for the 
conveyance of about 18,000 acres for use as open space and public 
parks. In both cases, if the land is not used for a public park or open 
space purpose, the land will revert to Federal ownership.
  This title of our bill represents a conservation grant package to the 
State and County that should pay dividends for conservation and 
recreation in Lincoln County for generations to come.

                  TITLE VI--TRANSFERS OF JURISDICTION

  During the development of this bill we decided against addressing 
wilderness issues within the Desert National Wildlife Range. This is a 
major disappointment to some in the environmental community who view 
the wilderness resources in the Range as some of the most pristine and 
wild country in the Mojave Desert.
  It is clear that significant acreage within the Desert Game Range 
meets the criteria of the Wilderness Act of 1964, and someday it may 
yet be recognized as such. In the meantime the areas in question will 
continue to be managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service according to 
its mission.
  This legislation does convey approximately 8,000 acres from the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service to the BLM, which will manage it as a utility 
corridor, and conveys a similar amount of acreage from the BLM to the 
Fish and Wildlife Service for inclusion in the

[[Page S6901]]

Desert National Wildlife Range. These areas lie between State Highway 
93 and the Sheep Range and this transfer helps rationalize the Federal 
land ownership pattern in northern Clark County and southern Lincoln 
County.
  This legislation, the Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation, and 
Development Act of 2004, is a many-faceted compromise. It is an 
ambitious bill. It is a complex bill. And it is an important bill for 
Lincoln County and all of southern Nevada.
  I look forward to working with the Chairman and Ranking Member of the 
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to ensure timely review 
and passage of this bill.
                                 ______