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Senator Hecht. Thank you for coming out and testifying. Just a 

 couple of questions for Mr. Clark. 



During the testimony, it has been alleged that Nevada lands 

 have been undervalued. Please describe the process used to arrive 

 at their appraisal for this bill. 



Mr. Clark. Yes, sir. We met with the Reno office of the Bureau 

 of Land Management and had identified with them the land we 

 have an interest in. 



They told us effectively they did not have a budget to do the ap- 

 praisals, but they did give us a list of appraisers who had been ac- 

 ceptable to them, and gave us a list of appraisal instructions. 



We hired a company on that list, gave them the appraisal in- 

 structions and paid his bill. He did his appraisal, which was provid- 

 ed to us, and we subsequently, like immediately, that is, provided it 

 to the Bureau of Land Management. 



Senator Hecht. Was it MAI appraiser? 



Mr. Clark. Yes, sir, it was. In fact, it was a former appraiser for 

 the Bureau of Land Management. 



Senator Hecht. And the same way in Florida. MAI, right? 



Mr. Clark. I beg your pardon? 



Senator Hecht. In Florida, you had an MAI 



Mr. Clark. Actually, we had two appraisers in Florida. In fact, 

 the same two that we looked at in Nevada. 



But the practical matter is, the State of Florida determined the 

 price in Florida, and our appraisers judgment did not matter to 

 them. They knew what they were willing to pay. 



Senator Hecht. Who was higher? The State of Florida, or your 

 appraisers? 



Mr. Clark. We were higher. 



Senator Hecht. Your appraisers were higher? 



Mr. Clark. Yes, they were. 



Senator Hecht. How about in Nevada? 



Mr. Clark. In Nevada we hired two appraisers. I mentioned the 

 one who was acceptable to the Bureau of Land Management. 



The other one was a large national company called Landour. We 

 hired them actually for our own purposes to look for verification, 

 and their prices were nearly the same. Very close. 



Senator Hecht. Okay. I assume that you are aware of the land 

 adjacent to the exchange area known as the Butler Ranch. I under- 

 stand the Butler Ranch was sold for $401.79 an acre. 



Can you address the discrepancy between this price and the 

 value set on the Coyote Spring Valley land? 



Mr. Clark. Yes, sir. I can certainly try to. The Butler Ranch 

 $400 price was brought to my attention a few months ago. 



At that time I contacted the party who had purchased it and ex- 

 plained that we had an appraisal on the Coyote Spring Valley 

 property of $45 an acre, and said, if you do not mind, why do you 

 not tell me why you paid $400 for it. 



I got a letter from him a few days later that identified his rea- 

 soning. I think I am quite sure that that data has been made avail- 

 able to the committee under separate cover, Senator. 



Senator Hecht. What basically was his reason? 



Mr. Clark. His reason was it had a lighted runway on it. I have 

 seen photographs of the site within the last month or so and I did 



