BEATTY -- What are the boundaries of the unincorporated town of Beatty?

Sounds like an easy question, one the Beatty Town Advisory Board asked of the district attorney's office over a year ago, and as time passed they thought the DA was being unresponsive.

At the board's Oct. 28 meeting, it finally got a reply as Assistant District Attorney Marla Zlotek presented them with a report and documentation around eight inches thick representing a year's work by her and other staff.

That work involved researching state and county law and even going page-by-page through county commission minutes for the last 100 years.

Zlotek highlighted events and actions from the creation of the first townsite map in 1906 through the establishment of the Beatty Town Advisory Board in 1995.

The most critical action seems to have been a 1980 county commission resolution enlarging the boundaries of the unincorporated town of Beatty.

However, Zlotek was unsure whether that boundary would hold up to a challenge in court, and it does not coincide with any of the five taxing districts in the area.

That is a problem since, under Nevada law governing unincorporated towns, a district established to collect ad valorem taxes or other revenue to provide services to a town can define its boundary.

As Zlotek interprets the law, Beatty is an "unformed unincorporated town without established boundaries."

This, of course, makes it difficult to establish a master plan for the town and also raises the question of who qualifies as a resident to run for town board.

Commissioner Joni Eastley and the county manager's office will consult with the county treasurer and others and seek the means to correct the problem.

A major portion of the same advisory board meeting was taken up by a presentation from the Amargosa Toad Working Group.

Representatives from U. S. Fish and Wildlife outlined the provisions of the Endangered Species Act and the procedure that must be followed when a petition is filed to list a species as endangered.

Currently the agency is dealing with a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

The petition has survived the first level of scrutiny and now enters a period of more detailed and thorough fact-gathering and review.

Michael Burroughs, the biologist in charge of monitoring the toad, said what is needed now is more information to help in replying to the petition.

Burroughs commended the "valiant and valuable" effort that has been made by the community and others to preserve and enhance toad habitat. He said that over the 11 years they have been monitoring the toad, its population appears to be stable. It does fluctuate, but he said that is normal for amphibians.

The working group is in the process of updating the conservation agreement and strategy adopted in 2000.

Locals can help prevent the listing of the toad by supporting conservation efforts, avoiding sensitive areas (specifically areas of open water during breeding season), minimizing the threat from introduced predators (in this case crayfish and bullfrogs), and not polluting or damaging the habitat.

Burroughs specifically mentioned that people should avoid racing ATVs through open water where there might be eggs or tadpoles.

The board also decided to pursue the idea of having the county use money set aside for the demolition of the current ambulance barn (once a new one is built) to repair it instead so that it may serve as a storage facility for the town.

There was to be only one meeting in November, which would also be the time of the informal election for town board members.

However, the board realized it needs to appoint workers to sign in the voters and distribute, collect and count ballots, so it scheduled a special meeting for 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 5 at 6:30 p.m. just to handle that matter.