Statement on Signing the
Nevada-Florida Land Exchange Authorization Act of 1988
March 31, 1988
I
am pleased to sign into law S. 854, the ``Nevada-Florida Land Exchange
Authorization Act of 1988.''
This
law authorizes and directs the exchange of approximately 38,840 acres of public
land in Nevada for some 4,650 acres of
Florida wetlands of equal value
owned by the Aerojet-General Corporation. Aerojet would be entitled to lease an additional 14,000
acres in Nevada for 99 years. The Nevada lands will be
transferred with a variety of stipulations for the protection of wildlife.
These
lands will be used for the construction of rocket manufacturing, assembly, and
testing facilities. Placing them in private ownership not only will expand
significantly the tax base of the affected counties, but will also provide
major employment opportunities in these areas.
The
lands acquired by the United States will be sold to the
South Florida Water Management District, a State agency, and used to augment
the water conservation activities of that agency. These include both the
protection of drinking water for the millions of people living in the Miami area and the
maintenance of proper water flows into Everglades National Park.
The
funds resulting from that sale will be utilized for purchase of important
wildlife habitat at two National Wildlife Refuges in Florida to aid in the effort to
preserve the endangered Key Deer and the Manatee.
I
particularly congratulate Senator Chic Hecht and Congresswoman Vucanovich, the primary sponsors, for their leadership role
in seeing this project through to completion. The other members of the Nevada and Florida delegations also
deserve considerable credit for the time and effort they have devoted to
securing passage of this legislation. Florida, Nevada, and the Nation benefit
from enactment of this bill. Everyone who has been involved should consider
this a job ``well done.''
Ronald
Reagan
The
White House,
March 31, 1988.
Note: S. 854, approved
March 31, was assigned Public Law No. 100 - 275.