254 



Senator Hecht. I need about 10 minutes of your indulgence, and 

 I will be right back. 



[Recess taken.] 



Senator Hecht. Thank you very much. Dennis Bechtel, Coordina- 

 tor, Department of Comprehensive Planning, Clark County, 

 Nevada. 



STATEMENT OF DENNIS A. BECHTEL, COORDINATOR, CLARK 

 COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING, 

 CLARK COUNTY, NV 



Mr. Bechtel. Thank you, Senator Hecht. I really appreciate the 

 opportunity to be here. My name is Dennis Bechtel, planning coor- 

 dinator for Clark County Department of Comprehensive Planning, 

 located in Las Vegas, Nevada. 



I appreciate the opportunity to testify this morning on two bills 

 of importance to the citizens of Clark County and southern 

 Nevada. Senate bill 854, the Nevada-Florida Land Exchange Au- 

 thorization Act of 1987, proposing the exchange of land in the 

 States of Nevada and Florida for the Aerojet General testing facili- 

 ty. 



Senate bill 59, introduced by Senator Hecht, and its House equiv- 

 alent, H.R. 267, introduced by Representative Vucanovich of 

 Nevada, both known as the National Forest and Public Lands of 

 Nevada Enhancement Act of 1987, propose the transfer of land be- 

 tween the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Serv- 

 ice of Nevada to further protect areas of scenic beauty. 



Clark County, which encompasses the city of Las Vegas, includes 

 a portion of the Aerojet General test facility proposed in S. 854, 

 and a number of the administrative and other operations which 

 will be located in metropolitan Las Vegas. 



With regard to S. 59, land adjacent to Mt. Charleston, the most 

 obvious reference point, some 40 miles from Las Vegas, an impor- 

 tant recreational resource currently under control of the Bureau of 

 Land Management, is being considered for transfer to the Forest 

 Service. 



Among the responsibilities of the Department of Comprehensive 

 Planning is the evaluation of the potential impact of projects such 

 as the proposed Aerojet facility on our local environment and citi- 

 zens. 



Staff has subsequently examined the potential consequences of 

 the proposed bills on our area of governmental responsibility and 

 have the following comments. 



With regard to S. 854, the Nevada-Florida Land Exchange. The 

 Clark County Department of Comprehensive Planning supports S. 

 854. 



S. 854 proposes the transfer of 4,650 acres of land located in the 

 sensitive wetlands area of Florida for 51,710 acres of public land 

 currently under the Bureau of Land Management administration 

 in the Coyote Springs and Garfield Flat areas in Nevada's Lincoln 

 and Clark counties. 



The transfer of land can assist in protecting sensitive wetlands in 

 southern Florida and also enable the important defense needs of 



