WORK SESSION DOCUMENT

                                                             

         Nevada’s Legislative Committee on Public Lands

           (Nevada Revised Statutes 218.5363)

 

          October 6, 2000

                                                             

The following “work session document” has been prepared by the Chairman and staff of Nevada’s Legislative Committee on Public Lands.  It is designed to assist the committee members in determining recommendations to be forwarded to the 2001 Session of the Nevada Legislature.

 

Each item in this document may be the subject of further discussion, refinement, or action.  The members of the committee may vote to send as many committee statements as they choose; however, pursuant to Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 218.2429, the committee is limited to ten bill draft requests (BDRs), including requests for the drafting of legislative resolutions.  The source of each recommendation is noted in parentheses.  Please note that specific details of approved requests for legislation or committee statements may need to be clarified by committee staff prior to drafting.  All place names referred to in this document are in Nevada unless otherwise noted.

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEGISLATIVE MEASURES

BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

 

1.       Request the drafting of a bill making an appropriation in the amount of $250,000 (or other dollar amount to be determined by the committee) to Nevada’s Legislative Committee on Public Lands for the purpose of awarding grants to applicants for public lands and natural resource projects.  This measure would contain similar language to that found in Section 6 of Senate Bill 560 of the 1999 Legislative Session  (recommended by numerous committee members and S.B. 560 grant applicants).

 

2.       Request the drafting of a bill amending Chapter 235 of NRS designating “Orovada Soil” as the official State Soil for Nevada (recommended by Michael Tiechert and his sixth through eighth grade class at the Orovada School; committee members recommended placing this request on the final work session).

 

3.       Request the drafting of a resolution discouraging the use of the Antiquities Act of 1906 by the President of the United States to declare National Monuments in Nevada and other states without the consent and approval of the impacted states.  This resolution would be similar to one approved in Arizona in June 2000, which urges Congress to prevent further designation of national monuments in Arizona without concurrence at the local, state, and Congressional level.  In addition, the resolution highlights the potential threat to local economies that may be associated with nonconsensual national monument designations (discussed at several meetings by several witnesses and committee members). 

4.       Request the drafting of a bill making a $250,000 appropriation to fund “regional strike teams” to assist in fire suppression efforts in northern and central Nevada (recommended by Pete Goicochea, Eureka County Commissioner, and Assemblyman Carpenter). 

 

5.       Request the drafting of a bill establishing the position of a full-time Seedbank Coordinator within Nevada’s Division of Forestry (NDF), State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (SDCNR) to meet the increasing demands for services at Nevada’s State Seedbank.  The duties of the Seedbank Coordinator would include: 1) identifying suitable seed and coordinating the collection of that seed on private and public lands in Nevada; 2) overseeing the permitting process for seed collection; 3) overseeing the ordering of seed products; and 4) coordinating with other local, state, and federal agencies to facilitate reseeding efforts (recommended by Pete Anderson, Resource Program Coordinator, NDF, SDCNR, and Gail Durham, Forestry Staff Specialist, Forest Stewardship Program Coordinator, NDF, SDCNR).

 

6.       Request the drafting of a resolution authorizing an interim study that will examine the issue of wilderness and wilderness study areas (WSAs) in Nevada.  The study would, in part, make formal recommendations to the Nevada Legislature, members of Nevada’s Congressional Delegation, and others regarding suitable areas for formal wilderness designation by Congress.  The study would also examine current policies regarding WSAs (selection, management, qualification, et cetera) and seek input from various governmental agencies, organizations, and individuals regarding wilderness topics (recommended and discussed by Senator Rhoads, Assemblyman Neighbors, and others at several meetings during the 1999-2001 legislative interim).

 

7.       Request the drafting of a resolution authorizing an interim study to address historically used roads over private property.  The study might include an examination of the meaning and impacts of RS 2477 roads, state and county impacts associated with the use of historic roads, liability issues, and the construction of new roads in both urban and rural areas (recommended by Senator Rhoads; addressed by Pete Goicochea, Eureka County Commissioner, and Richard Carver, Nye County Commissioner).

 

 

OTHER POSSIBLE COMMITTEE STATEMENTS

ACTION ITEMS FOR COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

 

8.       Send a committee letter to Nevada’s Department of Transportation urging the department to construct a fence along a 20-mile portion of U.S. Highway 319 between Panaca and the Nevada-Utah border.  Testimony indicated that this stretch of road has many blind curves and wild horses regularly gather on the roadway and pose a threat to motorists.  The existing fence on the north side of the road would need repair, while a fence on the south side of the road would need to be constructed (recommended by Jule Wadsworth, Chairman, Lincoln County Public Lands Use Committee).

 

9.       Send a committee letter to Nevada’s Division of Wildlife (NDOW), SDCNR, requesting that the division revisit the regulations regarding the Elk Depredation Program.  Specifically, the letter would request NDOW to require that the Elk Depredation Program reimburse for losses to privately owned water (water rights) caused by Elk.  The letter would specify that, if privately owned water is used by Elk, compensation to the owner should be provided for that use.  Testimony indicated that changing the terminology in the regulations from “private property” to “private land” would provide for the suggested use of program funds (recommended by Laurel Etchegaray, Chairman, Steering Committee, Coordinated Resource Management Planning, White Pine County; and Member, Eureka County Public Land Board).

 

10.     Send a committee letter to Nevada’s Governor Kenny C. Guinn, the members of Nevada’s Congressional Delegation, and various federal and state agency officials expressing concern regarding the potential listing of the Sage Grouse as an endangered or threatened species.  The letter would highlight current efforts to protect sage grouse habitat and encourage the State of Nevada, local governments, and land users to develop plans to protect Sage Grouse.  In addition, the letter would encourage activities that will help restore and protect sagebrush areas in an effort to prevent the listing of the species (discussed at numerous meetings throughout the interim; recommended by several committee members).

 

11.     Send a committee letter to the State Department of Agriculture (SDA) urging the department to study and explore the possibility of reestablishing “ports of entry” at Nevada’s state lines (on major highways) to help prevent the spread of fire ants and other invasive species and noxious weeds.  This review should specify whether the establishment of such inspection points would be cost effective and whether the State of Nevada would economically benefit from this activity (recommended by Assemblyman Collins).

 

12.     Send a committee letter to the members of Nevada’s Congressional Delegation proposing an amendment to the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) and/or the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act of 2000 (S. 1892 of the 106^th Congress, approved on July 25, 2000).  The proposed amendment would provide that a portion of the proceeds from land sales under either act be used for the improvement of the lands and issues addressed in the Great Basin Restoration Initiative and to assist in the high costs of land exchanges.  The letter would also encourage both Senator Reid and Congressman Gibbons to continue their efforts to pass a measure similar to SNPLMA that is specific to the rest of Nevada and urge them to incorporate the proposed amendment referenced above in their versions of the Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1999, currently under consideration in the 106^th Congress (S. 719 and H.R. 1506) (recommended by Assemblyman Carpenter). 

 

13.     Send a committee letter to the members of Nevada’s Congressional Delegation, Nevada’s Governor Kenny C. Guinn, the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Resources, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, and the Director of the BLM, expressing support for BLM’s Great Basin Restoration Initiative.  Additionally, the letter would encourage sufficient funding of the program (discussed at several meetings during the legislative interim; recommended by several committee members and the BLM). 

 

14.     Send a committee letter to the President of the United States, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, select Congressional representatives, and others requesting that Nevada’s BLM operations receive at least equal to or greater funding than other states.  Previous testimony indicated that, although Nevada ranks second in the country (behind Alaska) in BLM land ownership, the operating budget for Nevada’s BLM is lower than many other states (discussed at several meetings and in Washington, D.C.; recommended by Senator Rhoads). 

 

15.     Send a committee letter expressing support for S. 1941, the Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act, co-sponsored by United States Senator Richard H. Bryan.  The bill proposes to amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to: 1) make grants on a competitive basis for protecting the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel against fire and fire-related hazards; and 2) provide assistance for specified fire prevention programs (recommended by Cheryl Lyngar, Lander County Commissioner).

 

16.     Send a committee letter to the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture and Interior requesting the conduct of a pilot project for evaluating claims to rights-of-way under RS 2477 (recommended by Richard Carver, Chairman, Nye County Board of Commissioners).

 

17.     Send a committee letter to the Secretary of the Department of Interior and the Director of the BLM requesting that, as a follow-up to Senate Joint Resolution No. 1 of the 1999 Legislative Session (sponsored by the Committee on Public Lands) regarding “land in lieu of PILT,” Lincoln County be used as a “pilot project” for any efforts to reimburse local governments in the form of land for payments in lieu of taxes that are not appropriated or made (recommended by Jule Wadsworth, Chairman, Lincoln County Public Lands Use Committee).

 

18.     Send a committee letter to the members of Nevada’s Congressional Delegation urging them to draft legislation to restore the Community Pasture (Argenta Marshes) to Pershing County (recommended by Senator Rhoads; discussed by Terry Crawforth, Administrator, Nevada’s Division of Wildlife, and Mike Gottschalk, Chairman, Pershing County Water Conservation District).

 

19.     Send a committee letter to the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the head of the EPA’s toxics release inventory (TRI) program expressing support for a petition filed by the National Mining Association to more broadly define (in the TRI rules) the term “over burden” to include waste rock.  This could reduce the amount of reportable elements required for the hard rock mining industry.  The letter would also clarify that the great majority of the elements reported by the hard rock mining industry under TRI are naturally occurring in the soil, and pose no threat to humans (discussed at several meetings; recommended by several committee members and mining industry representatives). 

 

20.     Send a committee letter opposing the EPA’s proposal to reduce arsenic levels in drinking water from 50 parts per billion to 5 parts per billion.  The letter would stipulate that a large number of well communities in Nevada would be impacted by this rule and that associated costs to Nevada’s local communities to build treatment facilities to meet these standards would be exorbitant (discussed during informational tour of Washington, D.C.; recommended by several committee members).

 

21.     Send a committee letter to United States Senator Richard H. Bryan regarding S. 2273, the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (NCA) Act of 2000.  The letter would request that Senator Bryan carefully consider and readdress the concerns expressed by many Nevadans regarding the economic impacts to Nevada and the affects on land-based industries (grazing, mining, recreation, et cetera) if an NCA is authorized for the Black Rock Desert/High Rock Canyon area (recommended by Senator Rhoads).

 

22.     Send a committee letter to the SDA, the Nevada Weed Action Committee, the BLM, and other pertinent agencies and individuals expressing appreciation and support for their ongoing efforts to rid Nevada of noxious weeds and invasive species (recommended by several committee members). 

 

23.     Send a committee letter to the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, the Director of the BLM, the Nevada State Director of BLM, and other officials expressing satisfaction with the implementation of the Southern Nevada Land Management Act of 1998.  The letter would state that SNPLMA appears to be working very well and that the committee anticipates the recently-approved Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act of 2000 will further benefit Nevada’s businesses and citizens.  Furthermore, the letter would state that the committee welcomes any opportunity for private citizens and local governments to acquire federal land as offered in the two measures (recommended by several committee members). 

 

24.     Send a committee letter to Robert V. Abbey, State Director, Nevada BLM, and Robert Vaught, Forest Supervisor, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, expressing appreciation for their willingness to appear before Nevada’s Legislative Committee on Public Lands and for the regular attendance at the committee’s meetings by their respective agencies (recommended by Senator Rhoads).

 

25.     Send a committee letter to United States Senator Harry Reid and other members of Nevada’s Congressional Delegation encouraging any efforts to obtain federal funding for facilities development, resource inventory, planning, and compliance activities for the selective harvest of Piñon Juniper in Lincoln County and eastern Nevada (recommended by Mike L. Baughman, Contract Executive Director, Lincoln County Regional Development Authority).

 

NOTE:         The Legislative Committee on Public Lands may make additional recommendations based on presentations made at its meeting in Yerington on October 6, 2000.  Please see meeting agenda for discussion topics.