Time to Comment on BLM's Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Vegas Wash

BLM folk will be out and about next week soliciting comments on the draft of their Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the Upper Vegas Wash. Everyone is invited to attend the meeting and hopefully support either alternative A which sets aside 13,000 acres for stuff such as fossile bed preservation or the BLM’s preferred alternative B for 11,000 acres.

The report is online here.

Although it is important to take part in the process so that the BLM knows folks around here don’t want the land under study handed over to developers, this process is distinct from that currently in motion in Washington to declare portions of the area a fossil beds national monument. According to a Harry Reid spokester at the Protectors of Tule Springs meeting last Wednesday, that process seems to be moving along fairly well, and there may be draft legislation coming along soon.

Oooo look, other fossil beds national monuments:

• Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
• John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
• Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument

And wasn’t that a pleasant meeting, too? Quite the contrast with the City Council meetings, where anarchy reigned, especially in the special meeting over whether the firefighters should take over the job of transporting emergency cases to the local hospital. (RJ,Fox5,Sun,KLAS) I gave up on that meeting when I couldn’t find a parking place. Seeing that MedicWest had brought in two busloads of folks convinced me that, like most council meetings of late, it would be impossible to get in. Open meetings, indeed. Council decided 4-1 (Buck in the minority again) to punt on the fire department’s proposal. They’ll be bringing it up again in two weeks at what will no doubt be another popular meeting.

At the Upper Wash meeting, however, all of the northern valley’s political tribes, excluding the beleaguered Nor’Town city council, were in attendance, in peaceful harmony and unity, mainly because 10,000 Nor’Townies and Nor’Vallies got organized. Something to think about there.

Say, anybody plan yet to run Jill DeStephano DeStefano against Shelley Berkley? Could be fun…

And the pic doesn’t really have anything to do with this post. It’s from some pics Cal Farnsworth sent me a link to awhile back, for which I am grateful. It shows some desert bighorns being transfered to better habitat by the Fraternity of Desert Bighorn. (RJ)

I’m guessing city council knows what being towed through the air by a helicopter is like.