Congress could shield Las Vegas Paiute reservation from nearby development

A new effort from Congress could address the wandering eye of developers that is veering closer to land that was given back to the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe.

Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., introduced a bill Friday that would reverse a Bureau of Land Management release of 3,150 acres of land near the tribe’s Snow Mountain Reservation northwest of Las Vegas’ Skye Canyon neighborhood.

Instead, the bill would reaffirm a 2021 agreement between the city of Las Vegas and the tribe to allow the city to develop 933 acres of land next to the reservation — but only if the tribe gets 3,100 acres of land added to the reservation as a buffer.

Nevada’s sole Republican in Congress, Rep. Mark Amodei, who represents Northern Nevada, signed on to the bill as a co-sponsor.

“The Tribe truly appreciates this legislative effort by Congresswoman Titus,” Las Vegas Paiute Tribe Chairman Benny Tso said in a statement. “We have worked for a decade to receive what other tribes in Nevada already have — a return of a portion of our ancestral lands. This is an important step forward.”

In a brief statement in response to questions about the city’s development interests near the reservation, city spokesman Jace Radke said Las Vegas has a long-standing relationship with the tribe and will monitor the proposed bill.

‘Self-sufficiency and preservation’

The Snow Mountain Reservation consists of about 4,000 acres between Mount Charleston and the Sheep Range, which Congress gave back to the tribe in 1983. Within it, the tribe owns a golf resort and a smoke shop.

The tribal headquarters is still near downtown Las Vegas, on a small 10-acre parcel that Las Vegas ranch owner Helen Stewart transferred ownership of to the tribe in 1911.

Adding 3,156 acres to the reservation is a part of U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Clark County lands bill, as well, which stalled during the last session of Congress but was reintroduced in March. It has yet to be scheduled for a committee hearing.

Another land protection effort came in January, where the Bureau of Land Management proposed a 20-year pause on mining projects in a parcel of land adjacent to the reservation.

Titus’ office said in a Tuesday news release that the congresswoman believes the legislation strikes a balance between protecting the reservation from outside development, while helping establish an energy corridor and attracting industry to support Creech Air Force Base.

“This legislation is crucial to the Las Vegas Paiute as they fulfill their goals of economic self-sufficiency and preservation of their ancestral lands,” Titus said in a statement. “It will foster a unique partnership with the City of Las Vegas to coordinate growth in the Northwest while allowing the tribe to pursue economic development to create jobs for its members.”

The bill has been referred to the House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources.