September 2008 Director’s update

Good morning to everyone in the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. I hope you all had a great summer. I know I am looking forward to those magnificent Nevada fall days.

After months of preparation, DCNR’s biennial budget (it begins July 1, 2009 and ends June 30, 2011) has been submitted to the budget office. Given Nevada’s economic situation, the development of this budget has been nothing like I have experienced in my 27 plus years in state government. With the hard work and cooperation of the division administrators and agency budget staff we were able to meet our reduction targets. They will deeply impact our programs. The division administrators have been very creative in modifying the way we do business and how we provide services to our clients…the citizens and visitors of our state. We are only in the beginning stages of the process. We will now work with the Budget Office and the Governor’s Office as they craft a final budget to present to the 2009 session of the Nevada Legislature.

I would like to recognize Deputy Director Kay Scherer for the work she put into DCNR’s biennial budget. Kay is a master tactician and strategist and worked with all of the programs to ensure the impacts of the reductions were minimized. Great work Kay!

Brownfields loan clears the way for redevelopment

The cleanup of environmental contamination at a future retail site on the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony was completed using a $950,000 loan from the State of Nevada Brownfields Program, made possible by a $2 million grant from Environmental Protection Agency Region 9 to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP).

Governor Appoints Members to Panel Overseeing Implementation of Fire Commission Report

CARSON CITY, Nev. –- Fulfilling one of the recommendations of the California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission, Governor Jim Gibbons today announced the appointment of three Nevadans to oversee implementation of the commission’s work.

Appointed are former Tahoe Regional Planning Agency member Coe Swobe, Nevada State Forester Pete Anderson and Glenbrook Homeowners Association president A.J. “Bud” Hicks, who also served on the fire commission.

“These three individuals have a diverse array of expertise on issues affecting the Tahoe Basin,” Gibbons said. “I know that each is committed to protecting the basin from catastrophic wildfire, supports the recommendations of the fire commission and will be diligent in ensuring the commission’s recommendations are implemented.”

Fort Churchill now peaceful but has seen share of strife in past (LVRJ)

FT. CHURCHILL, Nev. — Stripped of roofs, windows and doors, stark adobe ruins remain of buildings that once comprised Nevada’s first military installation. Strife between native Paiutes and white settlers in 1860 resulted in the establishment of Fort Churchill east of Carson City. Now preserved as Fort Churchill State Historic Park, the outpost saw nearly a decade of active use during turbulent times.

Fort Churchill lies about 390 miles from Las Vegas. Southern Nevadans traveling north on U.S. 95 toward Reno turn at Schurz onto Alternate U.S. 95 through Yerington to reach the park. Follow the short, paved park road leading to a visitor center near the ruins.

Read the complete story at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

High Desert Council gets federal funds for new projects in southern Nevada

LAS VEGAS — Laurelle Hughes, president, High Desert Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc., and Ron Davidson, acting state conservationist for the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Nevada, have signed an agreement to partner on five new projects in southern Nevada.

The five projects will stimulate economic development and increase conservation efforts in southern Nevada. “We’re really excited about these new opportunities to help our rural areas,” said Hughes. “The projects will create jobs and make the areas better places to live.”