FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 8, 2002

NEWS RELEASE

Date: Time: Place:

May 17, 2002 9 a.m. Grant Sawyer State Office Building Room 4412 555 East Washington Avenue Las Vegas, Nevada

Contact:

Linda Eissmann, Committee Staff Director Legislative Committee on Public Lands Carson City, Nevada 89701-4747 (775) 684-6825

PUBLIC LANDS COMMITTEE TO MEET IN LAS VEGAS

Senator Dean A. Rhoads (R-Tuscarora) is pleased to announce that Nevada’s Legislative Committee on Public Lands will hold its sixth meeting of the 2001-2002 Legislative Interim at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building in Las Vegas on Friday, May 17, at 9 a.m. An agenda is attached to this news release.

According to Senator Rhoads, the Legislative Committee on Public Lands was created in 1983, as a permanent Committee of the Nevada Legislature. Its purposes are to review and comment on federal land management policies and practices, and to provide a forum for the discussion of public lands matters. The Committee holds meetings throughout Nevada during the interim period, and looks to local governments and residents to provide information that may be used for future legislation or other legislative actions.

“The management of Nevada’s public lands results in many complex issues, some of which are unique to each county and others that may be shared statewide,” Rhoads noted. “Either way, the Legislature’s Public Lands Committee wants to know what they are and how we might provide assistance or support to our local governments.” Typical public lands topics may address grazing, mining, public access, recreation, renewable energy, water rights, wildlife management, wildfire suppression, and a variety of natural resource and land use topics.

The meeting will begin with reports to the Committee on the status of the Clark County Public Lands Bill, introduction of the U.S. Forest Service’s new Spring Mountains District Ranger and a discussion of activities within the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, and an overview of a pending land transfer from the Federal Government to Clark County for the Clark County Shooting Range.

“There are many interesting projects going on in southern Nevada relative to public lands,” noted Rhoads. “Although we don’t yet know what the outcome will be of the upcoming Clark County Public Lands Bill, it looks as though the Shooting Range project is moving forward. This, as well as future recreation facilities in the Spring Mountains, are good examples of how the public can use and enjoy the public lands in Nevada.”

The Committee on Public Lands will also discuss renewable energy development on public lands and the future of water resources in southern Nevada. Rhoads explained, “The growth of Nevada’s population and economy are heavily dependent on the development of energy sources and water delivery systems, which, in turn, are heavily dependent on the use and management of public lands. As a result, these issues are of great interest to the Committee and we want to explore them further.”

Finally, the Committee will hear a presentation on the activities and programs of Federal Wildlife Refuge Complexes in Nevada by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and will discuss a potential bill draft request to address the issuance of stockwater permits on federally-managed lands.

The May 17 meeting will be the last meeting of the Committee in southern Nevada before the 2003 Legislative Session. According to Rhoads, “It’s very important that we hear from southern Nevadans about the public lands issues of interest to them. If there is assistance or support we can offer, now is the time to tell us before the next Legislature convenes.”

The other members of Nevada’s Legislative Committee on Public Lands are Senator Terry Care (D‑Las Vegas); Senator Mark A. James (R‑Las Vegas); Assemblyman Tom Collins (D‑Las Vegas); Assemblyman John W. Marvel (R-Battle Mountain); Assemblyman P. M. “Roy” Neighbors (D‑Tonopah); and Eureka County Commissioner Peter J. Goicoechea.