The Department of the Interior today (December 9) invited leasing and development proposals on a 3440·-acre tract of undeveloped Indian land in Nevada with a shore frontage of 6.4 miles on Pyramid Lake, an inland body of deep-blue fresh water in a desert-mountain setting.
The tract being offered is on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation about 33 miles north of Reno and offers excellent possibilities for business, recreational or residential development.
About 30 miles long and 12 miles across at the widest point, Pyramid Lake is the largest body of fresh water in Nevada and one of the biggest in the West. It is situated roughly 3,800 feet above sea level and is surrounded by mountains that rise to nearly 8,000 feet. Much of the shoreline particularly in the area being offered for lease, consists of sandy beaches.
The lake is well stocked with cutthroat and rainbow trout as well as Sacramento perch and is famous for its cui-ui, a prehistoric fish found nowhere else in the world. Boating has become popular in recent years.
The lease is to be for 25 years with an option for 25-year renewal.
Interested parties are invited to write the Superintendent, Nevada Indian Agency, Stewart, Nevada. He will provide full details and a copy of the lease form that is to be used.
Each bid must be accompanied by the following:
1. A preliminary planned schedule of general development. This is to include proposed annual development expenditures over the first five years of the lease term.
2. A proposal for the payment of a fixed annual ground rental. This must be not less than $50,000 and is to be submitted as one amount for the entire area and not on a per-acre basis.
3. A proposal for the payment of a percentage of the gross income from commercial and recreational operations such as hotels, motels, apartment buildings and trailer or mobile home tracts and food and service enterprises.
4. A proposal for the payment of minimum annual rental for residences apart from those specified in 3 above.
Bids will be received at the Nevada Indian Agency in Stewart until 2 p.m., March 9, 1961. Each bid must be accompanied by a cashier is check or certified check made payable to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the amount of the bidder's proposed ground rental for the first year.
The award will be made to the highest responsible bidder, rental and all other factors considered, provided the bid is reasonable and it is to the interest of the Pyramid Lake Indian Tribe, beneficial owner of the property, and the United states, as trustee of the property, to accept it.
Offering of the Pyramid Lake lands for long-term leasing was made possible by the Act of August 9, 1955 (69 stat. 539) which authorized leasing of Indian lands for terms up to 25 years with a possibility of a 25-year renewal. Under previous law such leases were generally limited to a five-year term,
