Thursday, Oct. 12, 2000 | 9:19 a.m.
In the 1955 motion picture classic, "Bad Day at Black Rock," an outsider looking to turn a good deed is confronted by a group of local thugs. The protagonist, played by Spencer Tracy, winds up humiliating the town. Fast forward to today, where the do-gooder played by Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., is urging Congress to pass legislation designating the Black Rock Desert in northwest Nevada as a national conservation area.
The Senate approved the bill last Thursday, but time is running out this session for passage in the House. That would be a bad day for the Black Rock Desert if the House failed to act. At stake are 1.2 million acres, including 11 wilderness areas that are still marked with the wagon ruts created by early pioneers. The bill represents a sound compromise with outdoor enthusiasts, who would still be able to use existing roads and trails for grazing, hunting and recreation.
With Bryan retiring from the Senate at the end of the year, passage of the Black Rock Desert bill would be an appropriate way to cap his 12 years of service in Congress.
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