Saturday, March 29, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
"They just don't understand the issues of the West," Ensign said. "They can't even comprehend a place where 89 percent of the land is owned by the federal government."
And that creates a problem when it comes to voting on bills and rewriting federal laws that affect two of the West's main livelihoods - mining and ranching.
Ensign, R-Nev., who represents the Las Vegas area, breezed through Elko Thursday and told a gathering at the Western Folklife Center one of his biggest challenges during the 105th Congress will be educating his fellow legislators on the issues affecting people who live and work in the western states.
He said he is encouraging his fellow lawmakers to take a trip out West and see firsthand the difficulties faced by ranchers and miners bound by federal laws, something he called "an incredibly difficult task."
Ensign said he supports a bill that would stall U.S. Bureau of Land Management reclamation bonding regulations for hard-rock mining, the Elko Daily Free Press reported.
The BLM's proposed regulations, which go into effect Monday, will require a minimum of $1,000 an acre from operators working on projects that involve five acres or less and $2,000 an acre for projects on larger pieces of land.
Ensign said while large mining companies may be able to afford such regulations, they'll make life difficult, if not impossible, for small prospectors.
"The economics are different for small miners," Ensign said.
Ensign said he'll continue to fight for the rights of northern Nevada residents, even those his district includes only Las Vegas.
"When you only have two members representing Nevada, you have to work together to represent the entire state," he said.
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