Committee says city should manage Kings Canyon open space

The city's recommendation to sell the 40 acre Gilbert property at the southeast corner of Borda Meadow off Kings Canyon Road to the U.S. Forest Service for $1.12 million was rejected Monday by Carson City's Open Space Advisory Committee.

Instead, the committee voted to tell the supervisors that Carson City should keep control of the land.

"They cited several reasons," said Open Space Manager Juan Guzman. "The most compelling reason is dissatisfaction with the management capability of the Forest Service regarding interface lands."

He said committee members also said they don't want to appear to be a "brokerage program."

"They believe their mission is to obtain open space and manage it, that once we buy open space, to keep it in open space."

The city bought the four 9.9-acre Gilbert parcels to protect them from development in April 2003. The city paid $740,000 and submitted an application to the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act to have the federal government buy the land.

After that funding came through this year, staff recommended selling the land and using the money to make other land purchases possible.

The majority of the land is on a hill, but about eight acres is within the riparian zone of Kings Canyon Creek.

Guzman said the committee voted to nominate the so-called Wilson parcels for purchase by the Forest Service Legacy Program. The two parcels, one 97 acres and the other 21 acres, are at the crest of the Carson Range where Ash Canyon meets the Tahoe State Park boundary. Both are surrounded by public lands.

Federal officials asked Carson City to help select properties for purchase with some $500,000 available to the area through the legacy program. Guzman said committee members decided those pieces of land most urgently need protection from development.

The other option was to nominate the 200 acre Long property along Waterfall Road near Kings Canyon Road. The land is mostly forested and contains a water source.

Guzman said the development threat is the possibility of building cabins on those lands since they have excellent view possibilities.

The recommendations must be reviewed and voted on by the Carson City Board of Supervisors.

n Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.