Proposed public land sale good for all, lawmakers say

RENO, Nev. -- A bipartisan plan to put up to 1 million acres of public land on the auction block is a win-win situation for the government, for Nevada, for the environment and for rural communities that are landlocked by surrounding federal land, according to Democrat Sen. Harry Reid and Republican Rep. Jim Gibbons.

"Our bill proposes to sell lands which the federal government has identified for disposal, and use the profits to help local communities preserve environmentally sensitive lands and pay for schools, roads and other infrastructure needs," Reid said.

Gibbons added that by putting public lands in private hands, the sales would allow for the growth of some towns that are encircled by government acreage.

"This is forever going to change the landscape of how Nevada deals with public lands in the state," Gibbons said.

With more than 60 million acres of Nevada under federal control, there still would be plenty of public land left over even if the full 1 million acres changes hands.

The land would be sold at auction with half of the proceeds going to the federal government, 45 percent to the local government and 5 percent to the state.

"The purpose of this bill is to give our rural communities the vital economic infusion they are going to need to survive and grow," Gibbons said.

With 87 percent of Nevada under federal control, both Gibbons and Reid said rural areas are suffering from a dearth of tax revenue. They singled out Lincoln County in particular, where almost all the land is federal.

"They just have no tax base. Renovating schools is nearly an impossibility," Reid said.

Lincoln County Commissioner Dan Frehner welcomed the bill.

"We're at 98.2 percent federally owned in the county, so any time we can get property back on the tax roll, we welcome it."

Frehner also endorsed a part of the bill requiring the government to work with local officials to identify which parcels would be put up for auction.

"We would want to make sure the right pieces are sold around the community so a developer is not coming in and getting the whole thing," he said. "We want it to go to the most beneficial use."

While the federal Bureau of Land Management hasn't even established the criteria for identifying such lands, some other likely candidates are properties around Pahrump, just east of Death Valley, and Wendover, which is hard up against the Bonneville salt flats.

Sales of public lands were already approved under the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act of 1998, and the 1980 Burton-Santini Act, both of which involved sales of public properties in Nevada.

Reid and Gibbons said they had received little reaction to the measure, either pro or con, and that hearings would be held in Nevada to get public input.

"If there's something we've missed, that's what congressional hearings are all about," Reid said.

"We've been working closely with environmental groups, and they don't have a problem with the legislation," Gibbons added.

Both lawmakers said they didn't know how much the sales might fetch.

"Like all land, some of it will market a lot easier than others. Some of it might not sell," Reid said. "But generally when land is available in rural Nevada, it goes for a pretty good price."

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