206 



The Peavine Mountain area, included in the measure of the 99th 

 Congress, has been omitted in S. 59 and H.R. 267. I would like to 

 take this opportunity to voice my support for restoring as nearly as 

 possible the boundaries established in the 1986 bills. 



The Peavine Mountain area is characteristic of National Forest 

 lands and should be included in the enhancement area. Peavine 

 Mountain intrudes into the valley and is highly visible by air and 

 from the ground. Peavine offers important recreation for the citi- 

 zens of Washoe County and represents a fragile ecosystem, balanc- 

 ing between the forested lands of the Sierra Nevada and the more 

 arid desert lands found in the adjacent valley. Moreover, should 

 Peavine not be included, only one-half of one section near the peak 

 will be transferred from the BLM to the United States Forest Serv- 

 ice, in contrast to our desire to alleviate administrative inefficien- 

 cies. 



Secondly, water language which was struck from the 1986 House- 

 passed version is included in the current measures. I submit that 

 language forwarded by the National Forest Task Force of Nevada 

 represents a reasonable compromise. The 1987 measures should not 

 be a forum for debating or solving complex national water rights 

 issues, especially in light of the small amount of water on the lands 

 affected by this legislation. 



Indeed, the water involved on the lands in question is of such a 

 small amount as to render the larger water rights moot. The citi- 

 zens of Nevada should not have their lands held hostage to an 

 issue which, by and large, is not applicable to the case at hand. 



Mr. Chairman, thank you again for this opportunity and for your 

 foresight on this issue vital to the public lands. 



I would like to thank you again for taking me out of order. I was 

 chairing a Committee on International Trafficking of Narcotics on 

 the House side and could not get here in time. I would have liked 

 to have heard everybody's testimony. Most of the groups have met 

 with me. I have heard their testimony. I think we can work this 

 thing out on both bills. I think they are both good bills and I hope 

 that this Committee takes favorable action and quickly. 



Thank you. 



Senator Hecht. Thank you. We have a lot of statements, so we 

 will give you the record when we are all finished, and you can sum- 

 marize it. 



Mr. BiLBRAY. I promise everybody that I will read them on the 

 plane to Las Vegas. I will have plenty of time. [General laughter] 



Senator Hecht. Thank you. Congressman. 



Gail, I thank you for your consideration in yielding to the Con- 

 gressman, but under the rules of the Senate, Congressmen and 

 Senators have such busy schedules that we always try to accommo- 

 date them. 



STATEMENT OF GAIL HARRIS, AD-HOC COMMITTEE ON AEROJET, 



LAS VEGAS, NV 



Ms. Harris. I was pleased to defer to Representative Bilbray. He 

 has been a friend in need in many instances on land issues in 

 Nevada. 



