Nevada Backroaders

Nevada 4-Wheel Drive Club
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 10:59 am

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 3 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Save Gold Butte
PostPosted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:31 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 6:56 pm
Posts: 178
Location: Steamboat Springs, CO.
An NCA for Gold Butte?

Save Gold Butte: An NCA for Gold Butte?

Many people and political factions believe that the problem with Gold Butte, is that it is not being effectively managed. Currently the public lands in the Gold Butte area are under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Before we jump to conclusions about the BLM, I must admit as my own opinion, that the BLM is underfunded and over tasked. Over 80 percent of all lands in Nevada are owned by the Federal Government and the BLM is charged with managing a large majority of that land. This is no doubt a daunting task. However, my family has had our own struggles with the BLM and our grazing rights, so I understand that there is another side to the story.


At this time, many of the more extreme environmental groups and those who are politically motivated, believe that the best solutions for Gold Butte is to be designated as a National Conservation Area (NCA). There are also talks about designating Gold Butte as a National Monument but that deserves and requires its own separate discussion.


The National Conservation Area (NCA) was created under the larger umbrella of the National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) which is administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This system was created in 2000. The NLCS mission statement is to, “conserve, protect and restore nationally significant landscapes recognized for their outstanding cultural, ecological and scientific values.” Because an NCA would remain under the umbrella of the BLM, we are lead to believe that through legislative action the Gold Butte area will receive additional funding.


Currently there are 16 designated NCAs in the United States, three of them being in Nevada: Black Rock Desert (799,165 acres), Red Rock (195,819 acres), and Sloan Canyon (48,438 acres). Within the entire NLCS there is approximately 27 million acres.


When working toward resolving any conflict, the pros and cons must be taken into account. One of the positive things about an NCA is that there would be elevated protection for the area within the designation. However, it takes an act of congress to designate an NCA, so the legislation can get written to fulfill any political agenda that the congressional sponsor may have. This also means that any political faction that is well funded or well connected can greatly influence the legislations direction. Another thing to keep in mind is that an NCA is not a substitute or replacement for a Wilderness Area. Often times NCAs contain Wilderness Areas.


If the NCA designation really is the direction that the Gold Butte area is headed, we need to ensure that the historical uses of the land are written into the legislation. In previous NCA designations, uses such as grazing have been listed as a statutory use and value of the area. If we can build these same types of protections for our existing roads, camping areas, hunting and wildlife management and other historical uses that are important to the community, then a consensus may be reached.

Conservation is an important way to help protect our most valuable cultural and natural resources for our future generations; however this is not done by limiting access. Protection with access to our public lands is key for a successful management plan to the Gold Butte Area.

_________________
Access Army - Joint Chiefs of Staff
Blue Ribbon Coalition - Life Member
BRC Kickin’ Access Technology (KAT) Team - Charter Member
Graduate of Del Albright's RLTC course
Just Good Trails - Trail Boss
Tread Lightly - Tread Trainer


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Save Gold Butte
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 9:51 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 6:56 pm
Posts: 178
Location: Steamboat Springs, CO.
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

_________________
Access Army - Joint Chiefs of Staff
Blue Ribbon Coalition - Life Member
BRC Kickin’ Access Technology (KAT) Team - Charter Member
Graduate of Del Albright's RLTC course
Just Good Trails - Trail Boss
Tread Lightly - Tread Trainer


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu May 06, 2010 8:59 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 6:56 pm
Posts: 178
Location: Steamboat Springs, CO.
Hi Guys - I'm in Vegas for a few weeks & thought I'd pass this info on about Gold Butte.

Political Theater
Source - Save Gold Butte: Political Theater


The commission chambers were filled to the point of overflowing into the halls of the Clark County Government Center on the May 4 County Commission meeting. This was to be the third time the resolution, in support of the Gold Butte NCA, came before the commissioners. However one distinct difference was that this go around there was time allocated for public comment.

From the show of hands, as requested by Chairman Reid in both support and opposition to the resolution, the room was more or less evenly divided. Those on the commissioners left were in support of the resolution and those on the commissioner’s right were in opposition to the resolution.

The left wing of the chamber was filled with representatives of various groups including Nevada Wilderness Project, Sierra Club, and The Center for Biological Diversity, and the likes. The right was filled with long time local families, the descendants of the pioneers who settled this great country and people who love, enjoy and have been stewards of this beautiful desert country.

The commission chamber was nothing more than an elaborate stage for the political theater to develop in the drama that has become Gold Butte. The main roles have already been cast, the plot premeditated, and the director working in the shadows to ensure all goes according to design. The public hearing was nothing more than marginalizing the supporting actors and allowing them their three minutes on stage.

Both sides feed on the others misconceptions. It is in this chaos that those in position find the opportune time to take advantage of the crisis.

The resolution passed with overwhelming support in the county commission.

As I have said before 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.

Though the final nail has yet to be driven in the coffin of access to public lands the construction of that coffin is well underway. I am not one who is normally gloom and doom however I must take into account the reality of what is in the making.

If history is any indicator, the bureaucratic management tools passed down from the Hill will work only in favor of restricted access to public lands.

If those who created the laws would live by the laws they created the BLM would have the opportunity to finish the process they have already begun, to manage the public lands in the lands best interest, not the best interests of special interests.

_________________
Access Army - Joint Chiefs of Staff
Blue Ribbon Coalition - Life Member
BRC Kickin’ Access Technology (KAT) Team - Charter Member
Graduate of Del Albright's RLTC course
Just Good Trails - Trail Boss
Tread Lightly - Tread Trainer


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 3 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
cron
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group