MINUTES OF THE

SENATE Committee on Natural Resources

 

Seventy-First Session

March 5, 2001

 

 

The Senate Committee on Natural Resourceswas called to order by Chairman Dean A. Rhoads, at 1:45 p.m., on Monday, March 5, 2001, in Room 2144 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada.  Exhibit A is the Agenda.  Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster.  All exhibits are available and on file at the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:

 

Senator Dean A. Rhoads, Chairman

Senator Lawrence E. Jacobsen, Vice Chairman

Senator Mike McGinness

Senator Mark A. James

Senator Raymond C. Shaffer

Senator Bob Coffin

Senator Maggie Carlton

 

STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:

 

Fred W. Welden, Committee Policy Analyst

Billie Brinkman, Secretary

Heather Miller, Committee Secretary

 

OTHERS PRESENT:

 

Doug Busselman, Lobbyist, Nevada Farm Bureau

C. Joseph Guild III, Lobbyist, Nevada Cattlemen’s Association

Alan R. Coyner, Administrator, Division of Minerals, and Commission of Mineral Resources, Department of Business and Industry

R. Michael Turnipseed, P.E., Director, State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Janine Hansen, Lobbyist, Nevada Eagle Forum

Stephanie Licht, Lobbyist, Nevada Woolgrower’s Association, and Elko County Board of Commissioners

Mike Franzoia, Mayor, City of Elko

Joseph L. Johnson, Representative, Tioyabe Chapter, Sierra Club

 

Chairman Rhoads opened the hearing on Senate Joint Resolution (S.J.R.) 2. 

 

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 2:  Expresses opposition to designation of national monument by President of United States without obtaining approval of each state and local government in which national monument is located. (BDR R-723)

 

Doug Busselman, Lobbyist, Nevada Farm Bureau (NFB), testified in favor of S.J.R. 2 and urged local levels of government, where such designations are proposed, be involved in the decision of creating a national monument.  He said that from the standpoint of national monuments, the NFB policy calls for Congress to have approval authority.  Mr. Busselman submitted a prepared statement of his remarks (Exhibit C).

 

C. Joseph Guild III, Lobbyist, Nevada Cattlemen’s Association, testified in favor of S.J.R. 2, stating the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association had discussed President Clinton’s designation of national monuments using the American Antiquities Act of 1906.  Mr. Guild gave the example of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Southern Utah, which was made into a monument without the consent of the state citizens or local government. 

 

Senator Coffin asked Mr. Guild what monuments have been declared in Nevada that should not have been without permission from local government.  Mr. Guild answered he was not the best source on that subject, since he is not on the Nevada Legislature’s Committee on Public Lands.  Chairman Rhoads responded that two Nevada sites had been nominated, one in Owyhee Canyon and another in the Black Rock Desert.  He said that no Nevada site has been nominated by a U.S. President.  Mr. Guild added that local input should be considered in national monument designation.  He said the Red Rock National Conservation Area, which was created as a result of U.S. Senator Bryan’s efforts, was opposed by sixteen of the seventeen Nevada counties.  Mr. Guild said many organizations, including the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association, opposed the creation of it as well.  In this case, he said local consideration was not taken into account at all.  

 

Senator Coffin and Mr. Guild discussed the language of the resolution.  Senator Coffin pointed out that tourism would bring considerable revenue to Nevada if the federal government designated national monuments within the state.  Chairman Rhoads, Senator Coffin, and Mr. Guild discussed the designations of other parks and monuments in Nevada and neighboring states.  Mr. Guild reiterated the appropriation of Nevada land, not the designation of monuments, was his chief concern.  Senator James agreed with Mr. Guild on this point. 

 

Senator Jacobsen and Chairman Rhoads asked what the national monuments of Nevada were and where they are located.  Fred W. Welden, Committee Policy Analyst, Research Division, Legislative Counsel Bureau, answered there are no national monuments in Nevada at present, but there have been two in the past.  Senator Coffin said the lack of Nevada monuments disturbed him since there are so many beautiful sites in the state that could be monuments, thus tourist attractions.  Senator Coffin asked if Nevada has asked the federal government to create national monuments in the state.  Chairman Rhoads responded it did not appear so.  Chairman Rhoads and Senator Coffin discussed the importance of tourism and the need for national monuments in Nevada.

 

Alan R. Coyner, Administrator, Division of Minerals, and Commission on Mineral Resources, Department of Business and Industry, testified in favor S.J.R. 2.  Mr. Coyner read from a prepared statement distributed to the committee (Exhibit D).  Senator Jacobsen asked if Nevada has the right to guard this land since most of the state is federally owned.  Mr. Coyner answered Nevada should be able to decline or ask for national monument status in certain areas without too much difficulty with the federal government. 

 

R. Michael Turnipseed, P.E., Director, State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), expressed his concern on the lack of reserved water rights mentioned in S.J.R. 2.  Mr. Turnipseed gave a brief history on reserved water rights and why language in any related piece of legislation is very important.  When Native American reservations were established, the U.S. Supreme Court said tribes on reserved lands had the right to sustain themselves.  This became problematic in the 1970s and 1980s when wildlife refuges and wildlife study areas (WSA) were taken out of the public domain and began to assert non-Indian federal reserved water rights.  Since no legislation existed at the time, there was no mention if these lands were entitled to water rights.  Mr. Turnipseed said the Black Rock Conservation District has large, untapped water reserves.  Many years later, when the DCNR did adjudication, the federal government claimed in-stream flows and other characteristics that are hard to quantify, and litigation ensued.  Litigation was also a problem in the Snow Mountain Reservation.  Mr. Turnipseed elaborated on a few conservation districts created this year, in which water rights were only mentioned at the urging of the DCNR.  Mr. Turnipseed then urged the committee to consider water rights when amending S.J.R. 2.

 

Janine Hansen, Lobbyist, Nevada Eagle Forum, testified in favor of S.J.R. 2, stating the right to petition the federal government is an important right to exercise.  Ms. Hansen provided a packet of opinion articles that opposed the designation of national monuments (Exhibit E).  Ms. Hansen also mentioned the economic handicap Nevada suffers due to conservation areas being blocked from tourist access.  She said these lands should also be utilized for their alternative energy capabilities, especially since the area is experiencing an energy crisis.  Ms. Hansen said it is clear from the state parks that Nevada is capable of keeping and maintaining its own land, should a monument be made. 

 

Stephanie D. Licht, Lobbyist, Nevada Woolgrower’s Association, and Elko County Board of Commissioners, testified in favor of S.J.R. 2, stating Nevada’s resources are the basis for its economy. 

 

Mike Franzoia, Mayor, City of Elko, testified in favor of S.J.R. 2, also stating Nevada’s economic prosperity depends on its resources.  Senator Coffin asked Mayor Franzoia how the citizens of Elko would react if the mayor voted in favor of a national monument in that area.  Mayor Franzoia responded it depended on how his answer to Senator Coffin’s question was worded.  He also said the pros and cons of the monument would have to be weighed, then communicated to the Elko citizens.  Senator Coffin and Mayor Franzoia discussed differences between local and state government, and how this affects the public’s response to the resolution. 

 

Joseph L. Johnson, Representative, Tioyabe Chapter, Sierra Club, testified against S.J.R. 2, and asserted it would give absolute control to local government without restriction as to what they can do.  Mr. Johnson stated it is appropriate to have consultation and coordination between local agencies before designation of a monument area, but there is concern about local government having too much control. 

 

Juanita Cox, Lobbyist, People to Protect America (PPA), submitted written testimony (Exhibit F) in support of S.J.R. 2 after the meeting had adjourned.

 

 

 

Since there was no further business, Chairman Rhoads adjourned the meeting at 2:40 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

 

 

 

                

Heather Miller,

Committee Secretary

 

 

APPROVED BY:

 

 

 

                                                                                         

Senator Dean A. Rhoads, Chairman

 

 

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