Sale of Public Lands

[Nemont]

February 9 2005

PUBLIC LAND AUCTIONS
Bush won't back off on money grab
By SAMANTHA YOUNG
PVT WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - Interior Secretary Gale Norton said Monday that the Bush administration has no plans to back down from a proposal to redirect millions of dollars in profits from Southern Nevada public land auctions.

"It is very clear that this is a significant financial issue," Norton said following the release of a budget plan that estimates federal land sales in Clark County will yield $1.2 billion this year - far more than projected when Congress authorized the sales in a 1998 law.

Norton said Interior officials would submit a proposed bill to Congress earmarking 70 percent of sales profits in Clark County back to the U. S. Treasury. All of the money now is spent for Nevada improvements.

"The goals that were identified for the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act are very good ones, and we believe we can reach those goals at the same time we are helping reduce the deficit," Norton said.

"Essentially that money would be available for any type of federal spending," Norton said, although she said the plan is for the funds to be banked in the Treasury to help offset the deficit.

The proposal sets the stage for a fight between the Bush administration and Nevada lawmakers, including Sen. John Ensign, a Republican who co-authored the 1998 law.

Ensign repeated in a statement that the Bush plan would be killed.

"The legislation is doing great things for Nevada's parks, trails, and environmentally sensitive areas and the money generated should, and will, remain in Nevada," Ensign said.

Norton acknowledged the coming battle.

"Anytime you talk about changes in the budget there are people who are going to protect the status quo," she said.

In budget documents released Monday, the administration questioned how Nevada was spending the land sales profits.

"Only eight percent of funds approved for the latest round of projects were earmarked for land acquisition," the budget states. "Meanwhile, 67 percent of these funds have been dedicated purely to local projects, which do not reflect the highest priorities of the nation."

As an example of questionable spending, the budget singled out a $16 million recreational shooting range outside Las Vegas that is being built with funds that Norton announced during a trip to Nevada on Aug. 5, 2004.

"The Bush administration is coming in trying to tell Nevada how to spend its money without the slightest idea of what the state is all about," said Tessa Hafen, spokeswoman for Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The state education fund would continue to receive a five percent share of auction profits, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority would keep its 10 percent stake.

Nevada parks, trails and conservation projects that now are funded with the remaining 85 percent would absorb the cutback. Under the new formula, the budget projects the Nevada account would receive $132 million plus interest.

The Clark County plan was incorporated in an Interior Department budget proposal that seeks savings in a number of other programs.

The department is proposing to eliminate $90 million in state recreation grants, saying they are "not federal responsibilities."

The state grants are among roughly 40,000 projects that have been funded under the Land and Water Conservation grant program in the past 40 years, including projects at the Clark County Wetlands Park, the Las Vegas Springs Preserve and a Henderson skateboard facility at River Mountain Park, according to an Interior 2004 report.

There are no recreational opportunities available on the Pahrump side of the Spring Mountain Range, though efforts to create a trails system are picking up steam. In an interview with the Pahrump Valley Times last week Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., indicated the state's congressional delegation would gladly act as intermediaries in the effort, saying such projects would be eligible for land sale funds.

The Interior Department also is proposing to cut $26.8 million from a program that compensates counties with large federal land holdings, such as Nye, where roughly 98 percent of the 18,400-square-mile county is under control of one or another federal entity. Nevada last year received $13.5 million through the Payments In Lieu of Taxes program, paid by private contractors at the Nevada Test Site.

A portion of grazing fees paid by ranchers to the Bureau of Land Management for range improvement also would be diverted to the treasury, roughly $10 million, according to the budget.

The plan assumes new grazing regulations scheduled for release in the coming months will allow ranchers to share ownership and the cost of capital improvements they make on the public land.

BLM budget officer Mike Ferguson said the agency plans to use maintenance funding and grants to make up the $10 million.

Meanwhile, the BLM is proposing to reduce its wild horse and burro budget by $2.5 million at a time the agency is striving to reduce horse populations on public lands. The agency has requested additional money from Congress for the last six years to make up for shortfalls.

Ferguson said the BLM would be spending less money next year on housing horses in its long-term sanctuaries as it seeks to improve its adoption program.

In another effort to raise money, the Interior Department is proposing for the second year in a row to raise mining claim fees from $100 to $125.

Congress last year blocked the fee hike, requiring the Bureau of Land Management to first implement a tracking system for permits. Ferguson said the system should be in place this year so mining fees can be raised to keep up with inflation rates.

Doug McMurdo contributed to this story.

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Thought this would be of interest to some here.

Nemont

 

[Ithaca 37]

Nemont, Thank you.

So do our SI posters think the Dubya administration should sell off public lands in every state? How'd ya like some of your National Forests sold?

 

[Erik in AK]

Isn't one of the chief recurring complaints by many who frequent SI, that the federal government owns too much land in western states?

If this land is being sold to foreign entities then I would oppose the sale on principle. I don't blame Nevada for being upset...if I read the article correctly NV will no longer profit from the sale of land they didn't own, which sounds silly to me, but what the hell...its the government after all

 

[Ithaca 37]

"Isn't one of the chief recurring complaints by many who frequent SI, that the federal government owns too much land in western states?"

Only from the feeble minded ones.

 

[Nemont]

I posted this because of the implications of connecting financing the deficit with the sale of public lands. I realize this is on a small scale but it is just the principle that bothers me. I really don't know enough about it but it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. They aren't using the proceeds for purchasing land elsewhere or improving access or the condition of the land.

A portion of grazing fees paid by ranchers to the Bureau of Land Management for range improvement also would be diverted to the treasury, roughly $10 million, according to the budget.

The plan assumes new grazing regulations scheduled for release in the coming months will allow ranchers to share ownership and the cost of capital improvements they make on the public land.

BLM budget officer Mike Ferguson said the agency plans to use maintenance funding and grants to make up the $10 million

This is the part of the article I didn't have time to comment upon earlier. If the grazing program is a money loser then how can there be an extra 10 million from the program to pay back to the treasury? How can the "welfare ranchers" pay into the treasury when supposedly they are taking more out then putting in?

Nemont

 

[1_pointer]

A portion of every grazing bill paid by a permittee goes into a fund that is set aside for range improvements only. So, from the improvements fund there's always a bit of money as we usually can't spend the money as fast as it's collected.