Nevada has every reason to feel like a slighted wallflower. We keep getting invited to the big sage grouse dance, but never get asked to dance. Gov. Brian Sandoval and Attorney Adam Laxalt and others have complained bitterly that state and local input on how to protect the sage grouse population and still conduct economically productive endeavors on the land the birds occupy … [Read more...]
Truckee River Crests in Sparks, But Flooding Not as Severe as Expected
The snow and rain came and the Truckee rose over its banks, just as forecast. But it appears Sparks dodged a bullet, with the river cresting below projections and the ensuing flooding not as bad as originally feared. Water levels on the Truckee were on their way down Monday night, prompting anxious residents and city officials to breathe a sigh of relief. Though parts of … [Read more...]
Interior Secretary Nominee Should Work With States on Public Lands
It is a bit disappointing that Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Interior Department, which along with other federal agencies controls 85 percent of Nevada, does not embrace his own party’s call for more federal public land to be transferred to the control of the states and local governments, but at least freshman Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke recognizes … [Read more...]
To ‘negotiate’ with the feds, you have to speak their language
Will the real Brian Sandoval please stand up? This past week the Nevada governor stood virtually alone in rebuking Attorney General Adam Laxalt for joining in a lawsuit seeking to block Interior Department plans to enforce draconian land use restrictions to protect the vast habitat of the greater sage grouse across 11 Western states. “Prematurely embroiling the state in … [Read more...]