Road closed ahead

People “who have access to public lands lead higher quality lives by having a variety of recreational opportunities that are not controlled by the for-profit private sector,” explained UNLV biological sciences professor Stan Smith in an interview for the Spring 2006 edition of UNLV magazine. “And they invariably become more informed citizens because they have a better understanding of deserts, wildlife, riparian zones, et cetera. Anyone who has ever lived in the Midwest or East knows that public land is an invaluable asset.”

Ah, those were the days, way back in 2006, when well meaning souls still harbored the impression that federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management were interested in safeguarding access to the public lands by, you know … the public.

That was before members of the Southern Nevada Land Cruisers, a group of off-road enthusiasts who for decades have taken trips on local public trails under BLM jurisdiction, were handed their bill for their planned outing this fall.

The BLM had increased the permit fee for the off-roaders to enjoy the rugged, back-country roads of rural Clark County, you see. From $90 to, um … $5,490.08.

That “processing fee” was required, a BLM spokesperson explained, because BLM staff had to spend more than 50 hours conducting “environmental and species habitat reviews” preparatory to issuing the permit, whereupon they decided to add the anticipated costs of having at least one ranger and recreation planner follow along to make sure the off-road vehicles don’t go, well … off the unpaved roads.

The Land Cruisers canceled their outing.

Then, last week. Review-Journal Outdoors columnist C. Douglas Nielsen wrote of the questions that ran through his mind “as I drove my pickup down Pipeline Road and back toward Henderson for what could be the last time.

“I can’t begin to count the number of trips I’ve made down that road over the years,” Mr. Nielsen wrote, “but those ventures appear to be a thing of the past. Bringing them to an end is an extensive off-highway vehicle closure being enforced by the Bureau of Land Management.

“The closure affects virtually all BLM controlled, yet publicly owned, lands surrounding the Las Vegas Valley,” and applies not merely to big four-wheelers, but to all automobiles and even to bicycles, the columnist discovered. “After one look at the map, I couldn’t believe the extent of the closure. It reaches for miles in virtually every direction from the Las Vegas Valley. From Lee Canyon and Apex on the north, the closure stretches to Jean on the south, the Redrock Conservation Area on the west and the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on the east. When combined with the Desert Wildlife Refuge, Nellis Air Force Base property and the new Sloan Canyon Conservation Area, public lands that are off limits to much of the recreating public completely surround us.”

BLM Supervisory Outdoor Recreation Planner (Who thinks up these titles, George Orwell?) Robert Wandel explains the OHV closure was created to assist Clark County in achieving mandated dust standards. “Because we’re partners in the community, we have to work together,” he said. “The county could fine us for the dust issue.”

For “allowing” the owners to drive down their own graded road?

Meantime, are the owners of the pipeline that gave this road its name still allowed to use it for inspection and maintenance? Wouldn’t that mean the BLM has just granted an exclusive easement for use of that road to a single commercial enterprise — creating precisely the kind of situation where “recreational opportunities are controlled by the for-profit private sector” that professor Smith warned about?

The BLM is chartered to manage the public lands for the public’s use. It has no mandate to help the county meet “air quality” standards that treat dust — a natural component of desert weather — as a “pollutant.” If the county is having trouble meeting those standards, let it pursue those goals by doing things that are actually reasonable, meantime calling upon Nevada’s attorney general to sue Washington, demanding that they show constitutional authorization for such an absurd regime.

We sure can’t find it.