U.S. Water News Online
LAS VEGAS -- A developer-lobbyist hoping to build 50,000 homes in a desert valley 50 miles north of here is committed to a project with minimal environmental impact, a representative says.
Coyote Springs Investments, headed by Harvey Whittemore, seeks to build upscale residential communities in Coyote Springs Valley, which straddles the Clark County-Lincoln County line.
The company recently held the first of two ``scoping'' meetings designed to get feedback on environmental issues that could block the 42,000-acre project.
Robert Derck, Coyote Springs Investments general manager, made the low-environmental impact pledge -- and said other developers might not do the same.
But some of the dozen or so people who attended the meeting, hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the project is so big there's no way to avoid harm to the sparse, high-desert ecology of the area.
``I think they're kidding themselves to say they're going to put in a 50,000-home development in an ecologically sensitive area without destroying the natural habitat,'' said Sheila Stirling, a Las Vegas resident who works for a construction company.
``It has the potential to destroy a whole desert ecosystem, an already strained ecosystem.''
The project faces several hurdles before construction can begin. The developer must submit an environmental impact statement and draft a plan to protect the habitats of several indigenous species, including the threatened desert tortoise.
If those documents pass muster with the Fish and Wildlife Service, the developer still must find water for the homes. The company has proposed using underground water at the site, but faces competition for the same water from the Las Vegas Valley Water District.
Environmentalists fear that using the water could deplete springs in nearby areas, affecting rare birds, plants and animals in the region.
Derck said his company has an extensive plan to drill test wells and monitor the impact the draw-off has on the local environment. The testing could help answer a long-standing question for the area: How much water is there.
State Engineer Hugh Ricci is evaluating the competing claims for groundwater in the Coyote Springs area and could make a decision on who gets the water, and how much they will get, next year.
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