MVTAB Hears Comments On Milkvetch SMA

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

The final public comment period was lively at the Moapa Valley Town Advisory Board (MVTAB) meeting on Wednesday, April 27 in Overton. As the agenda reached its close, MVTAB Chairwoman Lois Hall called for public comment and a flood of local residents came up to express opposition to a new federal designation being proposed on public lands just east of the Logandale and Overton communities.

These concerns were in regards to language in a public lands bill currently winding its way through the U.S. Congress. The Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act proposes setting aside a total of 2 million acres of newly-designated conservation land throughout Clark County in order to make available about 30,000 acres of new disposal land for development just south of the Las Vegas valley.

Top of mind among the local commenters was a provision in the bill that would set aside a swath of 8,430 acres as a new Special Management Area (SMA) for the Mesa Milkvetch. The new SMA would be located on the bench of the lower Moapa Valley just east of Logandale and Overton and spanning to the edge of the Mormon Mesa. It would run the full length of the valley from just north of Bowman Reservoir all the way to the Overton Wildlife Management Area.

For nearly three decades, this entire area has been designated by the BLM as disposal land open for development.

Local real estate agent Lori Houston was careful to say that she was not opposed to the entire bill. In fact, she acknowledged that part of the bill was good for the Moapa Valley community.
“But we are very opposed to the Mesa Milkvetch SMA provision in the bill,” Houston said. “What it basically does is landlock our valley for any future growth or progress. It will greatly affect our economic future as a community. I feel very strongly that this provision needs to be taken out of this bill.”

Logandale resident Marcus Jensen talked about the current trend of the choice farmlands in the valley being “largely consumed by residential development.”
“That is because it is the only land available,” he said. “The public land constraints are so heavy. And here we see another restriction applied by environmental interests to restrict the development of our community to only the bottom lands of the valley. It would be much better if these lands (on the bench) were designated for more residential development rather than set aside for some ephemeral environmental objective that very few people understand.”

Overton resident Mary Kaye Washburn, who is a member of the Moapa Valley Revitalization Project (MVRP), said that she had spend the past several years writing various grants to attract tourism to the community surrounding OHV use. Then these types of measures close down land for that use and neutralize those efforts, she said.

“We are finally starting to get traction on drawing tourism here with a community ATV designation and promoting ourselves throughout the region,” Washburn said. “The impact that this bill will have by taking away access to these areas is completely at cross purposes with the funding that the state is giving us to bring tourism here. This will strip us of economic vitality and our businesses will suffer again.”

Logandale resident Bryant Robison expressed frustration that rural areas of Clark County like Moapa Valley should again have to shoulder the burden of growth in Las Vegas.
“I have seen many times over the years this kind of power grab of Las Vegas,” Robison said. “That is what this is. It is nothing more than a power grab by Las Vegas developers trying to develop land there that they don’t have water for in the first place. So they are trying to take our water along with taking our land. We should not need to trade our future for development in Las Vegas. And that is what this whole bill is about.”

Moapa Valley Chamber of Commerce President Bernie Conrique said that such a designation in such a traditional community-use area is equivalent to making offenders out of a whole town of people.
“It is basically making criminals out of people who have gone out there to have fun for most of their lives,” Conrique said. “There is not a lot for kids to do in a small town like this. But this is one thing that they can do. They have always had the freedom to go out there and have a good time. This designation won’t stop that. But it will possibly create some criminals.”

As the comments began to come to an end, Houston came up again to make a request of the MVTAB. “We would respectfully request that you speak with Commissioner Kirkpatrick and ask her to intercede for this community with our Congressional representatives; none of whom called us, consulted us or informed us that this was going on. We want this provision removed from the bill immediately!”

MVTAB member Brian Burris said that he had already been in touch with Kirkpatrick who was being responsive to the community’s pleas in the matter. He added that, by the time the latest word about the bill had reached board members, it was too late for the item to be agendized in the meeting.

“Unfortunately, this board is an advisory board so we are kind of limited on what we can do as far as sending letters and other things,” Burris said. “We are advisory to the county commissioner. But I can tell you, it is not falling on deaf ears. She is not in support of pushing this forward.”

County Liaison William Covington who was in attendance at the meeting backed up this statement. “I can assure you that the Commissioner is in agreement with you and that she is going to do everything she can to make sure that this is taken out of the bill,” he said. “She does support you and she works tirelessly to bring economic development to Moapa Valley.”

Burris said that there were petitions circulating in the community that residents could sign in opposition to the Mesa Milkvetch SMA. These are available at Kuppa Joes, MVRP Visitor’s Center, Ace Hardware, True Value Hardware, Ink and Amethyst and other local shops.

“We would encourage you all to stand up and make your voice be known on this,” Burris said. “Sign the petitions. Write the letters. Saying things in the community doesn’t accomplish anything. If it is not on paper it doesn’t mean anything to anybody outside of the community.”