Sen. Harry Reid said he'd support transferring federal land to the city of Yerington in Lyon County if the deal includes creating a wilderness area in the region. The bill co-sponsored by other members of Nevada's congressional delegation would require Yerington to pay fair-market value for 19 square miles of U.S. Bureau of Land Management property near Pumpkin Hollow, a copper mine being developed by Nevada Copper. "It is not a lot of wilderness area, but it is something that is important," the Democratic Senate majority leader told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "They cannot think they are going to get this thing and do nothing for the environment." Nevada Copper says its operation will employ up to 500 workers making an average yearly salary of $80,000 when the mine is fully operational. The surrounding land targeted in the bill will be used for businesses serving the mine, but plans also include a BMX track, outdoor amphitheater, a solar farm and a light-manufacturing district. "I've been pretty good to mining and will continue to be," Reid said. "I have fought their battles for 30 years in Washington. And they are going to get their mining law passed, but they are going to have something environmentally in it." The proposed wilderness area is land between Smith Valley and Bridgeport, Calif., that has significant cultural meaning for Native Americans, Yerington Mayor George Dini said. The entire area is around 80,000 acres, but Dini was unsure how much would be designated as the wilderness area...more
They do stuff all the time for the environmentalists without requiring a benefit to local communities or business, so why this requirement by Reid?
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