FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 5, 2002

NEWS RELEASE

Date: Time: Place:

April 12, 2002 9 a.m. Mountain View Casino and Bowl Convention Center 1750 South Pahrump Valley Boulevard Pahrump, 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 PAHRUMP

Senator Dean A. Rhoads (R-Tuscarora), Chairman, is pleased to announce that Nevada’s Legislative Committee on Public Lands will hold its fifth meeting of the 2001-2002 Legislative Interim at the Mountain View Casino and Bowl Convention Center in Pahrump on Friday, April 12, 2002, at 9 a.m. An agenda is attached to this news release.

According to Senator Rhoads, the Public Lands Committee 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, water rights, wildfire suppression, and a variety of natural resource and land use topics.

Pahrump’s meeting will begin with several briefings about subjects of local concern to southwestern Nevada, including Esmeralda and Nye Counties. The Committee will receive updates of public lands issues regarding these counties from county representatives, as well as the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

Next, the Committee will hear a presentation by the U.S. Forest Service on its management of the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, as well as its lands program and efforts with prescribed burns. “The Spring Mountains NRA is important to southern Nevada because it provides many opportunities for recreation in close proximity to Las Vegas,” according to Rhoads.

The Committee will also be briefed about the Great Basin Heritage Area being proposed by U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada), the status of controlling noxious weeds and other invasive species in Nevada, and land proposed for future acquisition throughout the state under the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act of 1998.

Two other interesting projects will also be discussed regarding threatened and endangered species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will report on its activities at the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, including the possible removal of several fish and plant species from the Endangered Species List. “To remove a species from the Endangered Species List is really a remarkable accomplishment,” Rhoads explained. “We regularly hear about attempts to add species to the list, like the sage grouse or the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, but to consider removing a species means that its habitat and numbers have improved substantially. This really is good news.”

The other interesting project is the Amargosa Toad Conservation Agreement, developed by many different parties including federal, state, and local governments, private citizens, and interest groups. According to Rhoads, “This agreement represents a real success story in getting many different interests to work together toward a common goal.” Nevada’s Division of Wildlife and Nye County will brief the Committee about the agreement.

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