Local leaders search for Little Ash Springs solution

Nevada District 36 Assemblyman James Oscarson and County Commission chair Ed Higbee attended the Alamo Town Board meeting Feb. 11 and gave comment about the recent closure by the BLM of Little Ash Springs.

Oscarson, of Pahrump, and Higbee had attended a meeting that day of a few concerned citizens in Alamo, ?trying to put together some thoughts and ideas of what to do there, how you can preserve it not only for your community, but make it an asset and a resource,? he said.

BLM has temporarily closed the springs, popular to a large number of out-of-county visitors, while trying to figure out what to do to fix the problems there. Such ideas may involve selling the property, turn it over to the County, have it become a state park, or another idea, to combine both Big and Little Ash into a larger privately run operation. Not all ideas have been explored yet.

Oscarson acknowledged closure of the springs is likely to have some economic impact on the area with the loss of money the visitors bring in.

He told members of the town board since he first heard the BLM Caliente office was considering closing the springs temporarily, he and Senator Pete Goicoechea of Eureka, ?have been involved in following what is going on. We want to work together with you and want to try to set the wheels in motion to have another meeting in a month or so to see if there are some opportunities and some ways we can work together with the community, with? the state, and with the federal folks, to see what the answers are, what you really want, and then how we can help facilitate that.? Higbee later said the meeting would be March 11 in Alamo.

Oscarson noted he was not promising the state to do anything, other than help facilitate what the local people might decide to do. ?I want to be a resource for the (Alamo) board here, the Commissioners, and other folks that are trying to put these things together.?

He said it was as important to him as to others, ?to make sure the urbans understand that our needs in the rural areas are very different. We?re getting there.?

Higbee said he felt between Oscarson and Goicoechea, Lincoln County was ?in good company.?