 |
|
|
OBITUARIES
|
OBITUARIES FROM
AUGUST 19, 2010
OBITUARIES FROM
AUGUST 12, 2010
|
|
|
|
|
07-22-2010 BLM and Lincoln County Road Department at Odds
|
Rosemary Thomas
Photo by Dave Maxwell
|
BLM and Lincoln County Road Department at Odds
By Dave Maxwell
The Bureau of Land Management, Ely District, is claiming the Lincoln County Road Department has conducted “unauthorized road maintenance along roadways on land administered by the BLM.”
Rosemary Thomas, District Manager, Ely District Office, hand delivered a letter she had written to the County Board of Highway Commissioners meeting July 6 in Pioche.
Portions of the letter presented stated, “An official investigation has indicated a trespass by the County and individuals has occurred, and the County or its’ employees may be liable for violation of Federal law.”
Thomas said she had provided information to the Board May 17, 2010, about similar occurrences in October 2009 and March 2010, “indicating a history of this sort of unauthorized destruction of public lands by the Lincoln County Road Department.”
BLM has not said they are going to charge the County with administrative trespass, but was serving notice, “that if further unauthorized road widening occurs that causes destruction of natural resources, the County, the Road Department, and possibly the employees may be liable for resulting consequences, which could include administrative and criminal fines and fees.”
She said she learned in May the County Road Department was widening Kixmiller road on public land west of Pony Springs, beyond the existing road witdth and disturbance. “This resulted in the destruction of approximately 180 pinyon and juniper trees along a 2-mile stretch where archeological sites are known to occur, where the road was widened an average of 10 feet in new disturbance,” and estimated the cost of damage to be $25,700.
Then in June, BLM inspected Oak Well Road and claims numerous trees had been pushed over by road grading equipment, resulting in new road disturbance on either side of the existing road about 15 feet in width. This resulted in the loss of 1,197 trees greater than six inches in diameter. Estimated cost for damages here is about $122,000.
Thomas’ letter to the Board states the County Road Department violated parts certain portions or sections of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act laws, dating back 1976.
It was stated during the meeting BLM does not currently have a formal trespass agreement with Lincoln County, but Thomas did bring to the Commission meeting samples of agreements BLM does have with other counties, and requested BLM be able to meet with the Board members and representatives from the road department, “so that we can inform and discuss potential remedies and corrections for our situation and share information.”
Thomas complained she did not think the road department’s work on the road was simply “normal maintenance.”
Speaking during public comment portion of the agenda item, Bevan Lister disagreed with the need for a road agreement with BLM because roads, “under Nevada Revised Statutes are your sole jurisdiction and you have the power to say what gets bladed, where, when, and how wide.”
He said, “Pinyon juniper is the most noxious weed that we have in Lincoln County and its expansion has caused more resource damage in the American west over the last 40 years than any other single occurrence.”
Lister told board members, he thought this notification by the BLM of trespass, was only “a power play by the administration, and I hope you see it for what it is, and I hope you stand your ground and continue to blade the roads as you see fit. There is no need for a maintenance agreement. You have jurisdiction. We have the people, we have everything we need to maintain the roads.”
He also stated, “There are no BLM roads in Lincoln County, no BLM roads in the state of Nevada. They are all County or State roads. This is not a federal issue. None of the roads in question extend beyond the boundaries of the state of Nevada. The land falls under a split estate, split jurisdiction.”
He said it was a “well-held legal fact BLM does not have exclusive jurisdiction, especially it has no criminal law enforcement jurisdiction over any of those lands.”
Lister said BLM has closed roads in the County in a number of instances, but claimed that was a violation of state law. “The individual that closed those roads is liable to prosecution,” he said.
“This is one issue between the land owner and the BLM where there doesn’t need to be controversy,” Lister added, “The law is very specific. You are empowered to do what you need to do.” He urged board members to continue on as they are, and offered to bring the state statutes to the board for them to review.
County Road Department supervisor Steve Chouquer declined to answer any questions from the RECORD, deferring everything to the District Attorney
|
|
|
|
|
SUBSCRIBE
|
The Lincoln County Record is the area's source for local news, sports, and information.
The Record is a great way to keep in touch with the news and events that affect your community.
Delivered right to your mailbox each week, a subscription to The Record keeps you "in the know!"
|
|
Copyright Notice
|
The content on this site may not be copied in any form, in whole or in part, without written permission from the publisher.
All Original Content © 2007-10
The Lincoln County Record
All Rights Reserved
Web services provided by
Perfect Vision Web Services
|
|
|
