II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 405 

To provide for the conveyance of certain public land in Clark County, Nevada, 

for use as a heliport. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2005 

Mr. REID (for himself and Mr. ENSIGN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

A BILL

To provide for the conveyance of certain public land in Clark 

County, Nevada, for use as a heliport.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF PROPERTY TO CLARK COUN4 TY, NEVADA. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

6 (1) the Las Vegas Valley in the State of Ne7 vada is the fastest growing community in the United 

8 States; 
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1 (2) helicopter tour operations are conflicting 

2 with the needs of long-established residential com3 munities in the Valley; and 

4 (3) the designation of a public heliport in the 

5 Valley that would reduce conflicts between helicopter 

6 tour operators and residential communities is in the 

7 public interest. 

8 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

9 a suitable location for the establishment of a commercial 

10 service heliport facility to serve the Las Vegas Valley in 

11 the State of Nevada while minimizing and mitigating the 

12 impact of air tours on the Sloan Canyon National Con13 servation Area and North McCullough Mountains Wilder14 ness. 

15 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

16 (1) CONSERVATION AREA.—The term ‘‘Con17 servation Area’’ means the Sloan Canyon National 

18 Conservation Area established by section 604(a) of 

19 the Clark County Conservation of Public Land and 

20 Natural Resources Act of 2002 (116 Stat. 2010). 

21 (2) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means Clark 

22 County, Nevada. 

23 (3) HELICOPTER TOUR.— 
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘helicopter 

2 tour’’ means a commercial helicopter tour oper3 ated for profit. 

4 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘helicopter 

5 tour’’ does not include a helicopter tour that is 

6 carried out to assist a Federal, State, or local 

7 agency. 

8 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (5) WILDERNESS.—The term ‘‘Wilderness’’ 

11 means the North McCullough Mountains Wilderness 

12 established by section 202(a)(13) of the Clark Coun13 ty Conservation of Public Land and Natural Re14 sources Act of 2002 (116 Stat. 2000). 

15 (d) CONVEYANCE.—As soon as practicable after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall convey 

17 to the County, subject to valid existing rights, for no con18 sideration, all right, title, and interest of the United States 

19 in and to the parcel of land described in subsection (e). 

20 (e) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The parcel of land to 

21 be conveyed under subsection (d) is the parcel of approxi22 mately 229 acres of land depicted as tract A on the map 

23 entitled ‘‘Clark County Public Heliport Facility’’ and 

24 dated May 3, 2004. 

25 (f) USE OF LAND.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The parcel of land conveyed 

2 under subsection (d)— 

3 (A) shall be used by the County for the op4 eration of a heliport facility under the condi5 tions stated in paragraphs (2) and (3); and 

6 (B) shall not be disposed of by the County. 

7 (2) IMPOSITION OF FEES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any operator of a heli9 copter tour originating from or concluding at 

10 the parcel of land described in subsection (e) 

11 shall pay to the Clark County Department of 

12 Aviation a $3 conservation fee for each pas13 senger on the helicopter tour if any portion of 

14 the helicopter tour occurs over the Conservation 

15 Area. 

16 (B) DISPOSITION OF FUNDS.—Any 

17 amounts collected under subparagraph (A) shall 

18 be deposited in a special account in the Treas19 ury of the United States, which shall be avail20 able to the Secretary, without further appro21 priation, for the management of cultural, wild22 life, and wilderness resources on public land in 

23 the State of Nevada. 

24 (3) FLIGHT PATH.—Except for safety reasons, 

25 any helicopter tour originating or concluding at the 
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1 parcel of land described in subsection (e) that flies 

2 over the Conservation Area shall not fly— 

3 (A) over any area in the Conservation Area 

4 except the area that is between 3 and 5 miles 

5 north of the latitude of the southernmost 

6 boundary of the Conservation Area; 

7 (B) lower than 1,000 feet over the eastern 

8 segments of the boundary of the Conservation 

9 Area; or 

10 (C) lower than 500 feet over the western 

11 segments of the boundary of the Conservation 

12 Area. 

13 (4) REVERSION.—If the County ceases to use 

14 any of the land described in subsection (d) for the 

15 purpose described in paragraph (1)(A) and under 

16 the conditions stated in paragraphs (2) and (3)— 

17 (A) title to the parcel shall revert to the 

18 United States, at the option of the United 

19 States; and 

20 (B) the County shall be responsible for any 

21 reclamation necessary to revert the parcel to 

22 the United States. 

23 (g) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary shall 

24 require, as a condition of the conveyance under subsection 

25 (d), that the County pay the administrative costs of the 
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1 conveyance, including survey costs and any other costs as2 sociated with the transfer of title.

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