County commissioner says court fight with the feds done

Some people in the audience weren't so sure. After all, the announcement was coming from the man whose use of a county earth mover to re-open a U.S. Forest Service road helped fuel the government's decision to go to court.

The suit filed in 1995 officially ended May 1 when both sides signed a settlement agreement. The U.S. District Court ruling sided with federal control of public lands, but said local governments have what Carver calls "concurrent jurisdiction," which he calls a victory for the county.

He also said the agreement would expand the county's tax base since about 92 percent of Nye County is public land or used for military purposes, the Pahrump Valley Times reported.

archive