Harry Reid: “I rise today, for myself and Senator Ensign, to introduce legislation to establish a public heliport facility in Clark…”

“I rise today, for myself and Senator Ensign, to introduce legislation to establish a public heliport facility in Clark County, NY. The purpose of this bill is simple: It would convey about a third of a square mile of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management to Clark County for dedicated use as a heliport. The land is located just south of the Henderson city limits and east of Interstate 15. The establishment of this heliport will help eliminate the ongoing conflict between air tour operators whose overflights of the Grand Canyon represent a classic component of the Las Vegas visitor experience and residents in the west-central and southwestern parts of the Las Vegas Valley whose every day lives are adversely affected by helicopter noise. Local officials are committed to establishing a heliport within the Las Vegas Valley. The county and local municipalities have previously considered a site, currently in use as a go-kart track, near Interstate 15 near Henderson. The drawback of developing this site is that tours originating from this location would fly over the most sensitive parts of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, with no restrictions on routing or elevation. Sloan Canyon itself--one of the richest petroglyph sites in the Mohave Desert--would be subject to regular overflights. That outcome would be entirely legal, entirely predictable and entirely regrettable.”