Plan for Washoe land in works

Development of a land use plan for an estimated 60,000 acres of Washoe allotments in the Pine Nut Mountains along Highway 395 south of Gardnerville is under way.

Officials from the Bureau of Indian Affairs plan to meet with Washoes and members of other tribes tonight in Dresslerville and again on Thursday in Carson City to discuss the plan.

According to a Sept. 3 letter, the agency has hired a consultant to prepare a land use and development plan for some of the property held by Washoe families along Highway 395.

Some projects, such as Pineview Estates, have already been constructed in the Pine Nuts and other landowners are being approached to lease their lands for development.

Members of the Washoe and other Nevada tribes were granted allotments in the Pine Nuts of between 40 and 160 acres.

The allotments' beneficial title is held by those members' heirs, with legal title held by the United States.

While the allotments are not within a federal reservation, they are subject to federal environmental laws and are under the direct authority of the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

"Over the past years, growth in Douglas County has led to a greater demand for housing and related commercial developments," the letter said. "Much of the suitable non-trust land in Douglas County as already been developed or is subject to development restrictions. As a result Indian landowners are being approached with residential and other long-term commercial development proposals. One subdivision has been constructed, and a number of other leases have been proposed, but there have been many differences in the way these leases have been documented by the parities and processed by the BIA."

According to the letter, the plan will show which tracts have development potential, recommendations for lease provisions that would limit negative impacts of development and ensure certain building standards are met and recommendations for lease provisions that would provide the best economic return to the landowners.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has also completed a vegetation inventory that will help determine the proper livestock carrying capacity for grazing permits.

Preliminary findings will be presented at a meeting 6-8 p.m. Wednesday in the Dresslerville Gymnasium, 1585 Watasheamu, Dresslerville and Thursday at the Carson Indian Colony Senior/Community Building, 401 Washoe St.