Bureaucratic Mud - Save Gold Butte - May 4th (1 Viewer)

[SinCityFJC]

Bureaucratic Mud
Source - Save Gold Butte - Save Gold Butte: Bureaucratic Mud


The Board of County Commissioners has released their latest resolution on Gold Butte which will be heard on Tuesday, May 4


You can read the resolution by Clicking Here - http://agenda.co.clark.nv.us/sirepub/cache/2/4325pbrijsz4ps2almkegryl/22200604282010072256491.PDF

You can view the proposed map by Clicking Here - http://agenda.co.clark.nv.us/sirepub/cache/2/4325pbrijsz4ps2almkegryl/22200704282010073029756.PDF


If you read anything make sure you read bullet point 6:
"that approximately 130,000 acres of wilderness be designated within the national conservation area, in addition to following the National Park Service’s wilderness recommendations for adjacent park lands"


The Park Service recommendations, in case you are wondering is: 91,963 Acres

The following are my feelings on the proposed NCA for Gold Butte:

The inadequacy of the proposed solution creates more vulnerability for that which the original intent was to protect. The future of our public lands will become ensnared in a mire of bureaucratic mud with which the only solution will be to restrict the liberties of those who have come to enjoy which are rightfully theirs.

Dustin W. Nelson

We are well on our way to taking the public out of public lands

It is imperative that you attend the Board of County Commissioners meeting Tuesday, May 4 at 10:00 am to voice you opinion

A punishment to some, to some a gift, and to many a favor -- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

 

[SinCityFJC]

Just in from Elise @ PIC:

The Board of County Commissioner’s agenda for 5-4-10 has been posted and the Gold Butte NCA & Wilderness issue is agenda item #98, in the Public Hearings Section at 10 am. Please find the time to attend and voice your opinion regarding this issue. Please pass this around to everyone you know and urge them to attend also. It would be great if everyone could get there around 8:30, so that our ‘side’ can fill up the seats first. We will have to sit through the first part of the agenda, but arriving later than 8:30 might result in standing or being out in the hall; it will be much better for the commissioners to SEE how many people oppose the NCA/wilderness designation. I know many of you have club T-shirts or hats; I would think seeing a sea of similarly colored clothing in the audience would send a strong message also. If anyone has T-shirts or hats that support multiple use/public access—please let the rest of us know; I would buy something that stated that message. If you cannot attend, please call or email your commissioner (and federal legislators) and let them know your thoughts on this issue.

The nitty-gritty of it all: We have been meeting with several commissioners and urging them NOT to vote on this issue until there is a public meeting; 3 times it has been pulled from previous agendas, but with this public hearing—it will be heard this time. Some of the rural town board members and citizens approached Sisolak and stated that an NCA designation had to have certain conditions IF it was ever going to get the support of those who believe in public access and multiple use. Commissioner Sisolak said he would like a list of those conditions. Here is what we came up with—it’s not perfect, but it covered a range of issues:

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED by the Clark County Commission, Nevada, supports the designation of the Gold Butte Complex as a National Conservation Area as long as the following conditions are written into the actual legislative language for this NCA:
That a requirement of public access and multiple use be mandated over the area;
That all roads and travel management plans be the “Route Designations for Selected ACECs Located in the Northeast Portion of the Las Vegas BLM District EA #NV-052-2006-0433 road management plan”;
That the NCA name include the term “Multiple Use”;
That no new wilderness designations be included;
That the Virgin Mountain Instant Study Area’s entire acreage be released from this designation and returned to an “ACEC” designation;
That the Million Hills Wilderness Study Area’s entire acreage be released from this designation and returned to an “ACEC” designation;
That this NCA be managed to protect and enhance the values of Multiple Use, of the Heritage and History of Virgin Valley and Moapa Valley and their Traditional Uses of Gold Butte, of Historical, Cultural, and Natural Resources, and of People Connecting with Their Land;
That a permanently standing committee will be appointed to ensure intense public involvement in the development and implementation of the management plan for this NCA and that committee will be comprised of the following: Two citizens appointed by each of the 4 local governments, Mesquite City Council (2), Bunkerville Town Advisory Board (2), Moapa Valley Town Advisory Board (2), and Moapa Town Advisory Board (2), a Clark County Commissioner (or appointed citizen), a City Council member (or appointed citizen) from each of the cities of Las Vegas, North, Las Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City, a representative from Partners in Conservation (1), a representative from Friends of Gold Butte or a local preservation/wilderness advocate group (1), a representative from the northeast Clark County’s liaison’s office (1), a representative from the Moapa Tribe of Paiutes (1), and one (1) representative (living in Clark County) each from the motorized recreation community, the non-motorized recreation community, and a historical organization or museum;
That all existing water developments (including ranch and mining water developments) and all springs be enhanced and maintained to ensure wildlife have water access that has been traditionally available; and
That all traditional and current lawful recreational opportunities be implemented to secure and ensure the economic interests of neighboring jurisdictions.

Regarding the above—we thought that the specific title of the Roads EA must be written into legislation; that the NCA must be managed for multiple use, that because the BLM states publicly that no acreage in the Gold Butte area qualifies for wilderness designation, including the 2 study areas, all wilderness study areas should be released from wilderness designation and no new wilderness be designated.

This is the first agenda component placed on the web today by Commissioner Collins:

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the Clark County
Commission, Nevada, supports the designation of the Gold Butte area by the United
States Congress as a National Conservation Area (NCA) with Multiple Use Areas and
Wilderness with the following conditions being included in the legislative language
establishing the NCA:
1. The approximate size of the National Conservation area is to be 345,000 acres
with up to 200,000 acres of Wilderness.
2. That Congress mandate that an effective NCA management plan be developed
and implemented that:
a. Incorporates the road management plan with open and closed roads as
depicted on the attached map,
b. Provides opportunities for dispersed camping,
c. Allows hunting,
d .Includes currently authorized legal livestock grazing permits or
grazing legally authorized for the specific purpose of fuel control to
prevent fires, and
e. Provides for a committee composed of one member each from the
Moapa, Moapa Valley, and Bunkerville Town Advisory Boards, one
Clark County Commissioner, and one Council member from North
Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Mesquite, Boulder City, and Henderson to
work with implementation of the NCA Plan


Later, this afternoon, that resolution was replaced with this, again by Commissioner Collins:

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the Clark County
Commission, Nevada, supports the designation of the Gold Butte Complex as a National
Conservation Area with Wilderness and for multiple uses. Clark County also identifies
these priorities for the national conservation area:
1. opportunities for dispersed camping and hunting;
2. the incorporation of the existing Bureau of Land Management road
management plan;
3. that the national conservation area designation be approximately 345,000
acres in size;
4. that valid grazing rights be honored;
5. that the legislation establish an advisory board which guarantees
representation for all communities near Gold Butte and other town/cities
throughout Clark County, including local tribes, which may have an interest;
6. that approximately 130,000 acres of wilderness be designated within the
national conservation area, in addition to following the National Park
Service’s wilderness recommendations for adjacent park lands; and
7. that the increased protections for the federal lands in question count positively
towards Clark County’s MSHCP obligations.


It appears that most of our requested conditions have disappeared; personally, I don’t think the language in #2, (road management plan) is tight enough—it is too vague and I worry what that will leave us with, when it is all said and done. I am personally very upset about the ADDITION of the NPS wilderness; Dustin did the math and that is another 91,000+ acres. This has never been discussed—we just barely got a map to see the details involving the BLM wilderness; there never has been a mention of the NPS wilderness—until today. It is difficult to work with others and trust them, when they continue to pull additional restrictions out of their hats. Additionally, the roads issue, in the latest agenda posting, does not reference a map so there is no visual and concrete way of knowing what roads will be left open and what will not.

If you have issues, ideas, concerns—please email back so we can collectively come up with the best way to move forward; I think it is absolutely necessary that we are united and supportive of each other’s particular recreational and personal favorites. I would be happy to research any issue or question you might have. I will do some general research and send out another email or two with some talking points; please send me what you think would be important points to emphasize. I think we all better get to be VERY good friends; it looks like we are all going to be enjoying the same tiny itty-bitty parcels of public land, Elise

Elise McAllister
Administrator
Partners In Conservation
PO Box 298
Moapa, NV 89025
partners-in-conservation.com