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Nevada: 16 land parcels targeted for acquisition Tim Anderson
Priorities for potential acquisitions were established through a collaborative effort involving representatives of Douglas and Washoe counties and Carson City. The list was endorsed earlier this month by Douglas and Carson City officials. The Washoe County Commission is scheduled to approve the plan today. Officials said they believe they’ll have a better chance for success in protecting the parcels from development by working together on a coordinated approach. In all, the tri-county proposal calls for setting aside 5,200 acres under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. The top priority listed by the tri-county group is 180 acres in Douglas County’s Water Canyon. The area above Genoa in the Carson Range was selected for its “aesthetic and wildlife values,” being adjacent to national forest land and having access to the Tahoe Rim Trail. The Bureau of Land Management, which administers the program, will be responsible for compiling a final list of recommendations for potential acquisitions. The secretary of the interior will make the final decision. Officials from the three counties, along with representatives of environmental groups and interested citizens, worked for nine months to reach consensus in listing and ranking land for protection. “It was very important for all three entities to be so closely involved. This took some of the politics out of the selection,’’ Douglas County Commissioner Jacques Etchegoyhen said Tuesday. Although there’s no certainty the BLM and Interior Department will apply the same ranking to the parcels, Etchegoyhen said the coordinated approach should help all three counties in their efforts to protect environmentally fragile land or open space. Under the federal plan, funds are set aside from the sale of land suitable for development in the Las Vegas area. The money can then be used to acquire environmentally or culturally sensitive land elsewhere in the state. The program calls for about three-fourths of the land to be used to purchase sensitive land in Clark County. Of the 16 properties, 12 were listed for possible acquisition through the Forest Service and four through the BLM. Following Water Canyon on the potential list of purchases through the Forest Service are West Truckee River in Washoe, 215 acres; Upper Ash Canyon, Carson City, 162 acres; Kings Canyon, Carson City, 360 acres; Bowers Mansion Regional Park area, Washoe, 120 acres; Thomas Creek Canyon meadows, Washoe, 38 acres; James Canyon, Douglas, 560 acres; Spooner Summit area, Douglas, 56 acres; Peavine Mountain-West, Washoe, 960 acres; Upper Kings Canyon meadow, Carson City, 280 acres; Stutler Canyon, Douglas, 121 acres; Peavine Mountain-East, Washoe, 413 acres. Properties for possible purchase through the BLM are Huffaker Hills, Washoe, 515 acres; Carson River area, Carson City, 919 acres; Swan Lake, Washoe, 205 acres; Pleasant Valley, Washoe, 124 acres. Also eligible are large parcels in the Ballardini and Casey ranches in Washoe County. In addition, 11 Carson Valley ranches, encompassing more than 4,000 acres and previously nominated as possible conservation easements, remain a top priority, officials said. The ranches encompass more than 4,000 acres. “More and more, conservation easements are being seen as a very beneficial tool for resource protection,’’ said Etchegoyhen, state director of the American Land Conservancy. Officials said the downside to the land acquisition program is the lengthy time it often takes to complete a transaction. This has resulted in some properties being sold or traded before a purchase can be finalized. Copyright ©
2002 The Reno Gazette-Journal
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