Senate approves bill that includes Carson land swap

Senate passage of a federal lands bill Thursday gave a boost to Northern Nevada projects.

The measure, passed 73-21, would set aside 2 million acres of protected wilderness in nine states and add more than 1,000 miles to the system of wild and scenic rivers. House approval is expected.

"So many great projects that will help Nevada can now move forward because we passed this bill," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said. "I've worked for quite a long time to see this legislation through the Senate because I believe in its power to improve our daily quality of life."

The bill includes a land exchange between Carson City and the Forest Service, giving each entity land that is more suited to its mission and management abilities. The bill also conveys the Silver Saddle Ranch and Prison Hill to Carson City for continued public use. More than 5,000 acres from the Bureau of Land Management east of the city and about 1,000 acres from the U.S. Forest Service on the west side of the city would go to the local government under the bill, tripling the land the city has for parks and open space now.

"It didn't make sense" for the federal government to manager the land, said Duane Petite of The Nature Conservancy, which helped work on the bill.

Taking more than 3,500 acres of the Silver Saddle Ranch and areas around the Carson River in the southeast part of the city on condition that it cannot be developed is one of the most important things about the bill, Petite said.

The city would give up about 2,200 acres of high mountains in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest under the bill, but that is land easier for the Forest Service to maintain.

About 150 acres of the land the city will get under the bill, mostly along Highway 50 East, will be available for economic development.

Other provisions in the bill include close to 300 acres from the federal government to the Washoe Tribe, land next to the Carson and Stewart Indian Colonies.

Also included in the bill was the Aging Water Infrastructure and Maintenance Act, which was introduced by Reid following the devastating Fernley flood. This bill provides resources and direction to the Bureau of Reclamation to inspect and maintain aging water facilities owned by the federal government. Under this bill, repairs can be paid for more than 50 years instead of the current one year and emergency maintenance repairs are eligible for funding from reclamation.