The Bureau of Land Management under the Trump administration has followed through on its promise to give states greater flexibility on protecting greater sage grouse. On Friday a 204-page draft management plan for Nevada and northeastern California was published in the Federal Register. The plan specifically states that its purpose is to enhance cooperation with the states … [Read more...]
BLM Calculates Costs of Wild Horse Options
The Bureau of Land Management sent to Congress late this past week a report outlining four options for reducing the wild horse and burro population in 10 Western states to sustainable levels. Only one of the four options includes the use of euthanasia, but that was enough to give the self-styled wild horse lovers palpitations. “The BLM today released a roadmap for … [Read more...]
Regional Cooperation and Summer Fire Safety
Last year the Bureau of Land Management Fire Investigator found that target shooting was responsible for roughly 40 percent of human-caused fires in our region1. In Washoe County, shooting is not allowed within 5,000 feet of any occupied dwelling2. The rapid development across Washoe County is continuously pushing target shooters out of their designated zones, giving them … [Read more...]
Opposition to Wind Farm Project Expressed
As part of its review process to determine whether to approve an application to allow construction of wind turbines on 32,000 acres of public land in Nevada adjacent to the California border just west of Searchlight, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) conducted a series of scoping meetings to allow public input. At a recent meeting in Las Vegas a half dozen speakers largely … [Read more...]
Neighbors Hope Little Ash Springs Remains Closed
There are two sides to every story. Four years ago the Bureau of Land Management locked the gate to Little Ash Springs north of Alamo for what was described as a couple of weeks due to a crumbling wall on a manmade pool. It remains closed. Recently, the Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke told the Las Vegas newspaper, “This is exactly why the federal government needs to … [Read more...]
Move the Headquarters of Federal Land Agencies West
Head ’em up, move ’em out. There has been a lot of talk since the Trump administration has taken over about where to locate the national headquarters of some of the nation’s federal land agencies. One land agency, the Bureau of Land Management, controls 11 percent of the nation’s lands, but 99 percent of that land is in the West. Fully 85 percent of the land in Nevada is … [Read more...]
Will Collaboration On Sage Grouse Finally Happen?
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...]
Nevada’s rural congressmen chip away at federal lands
Nevada’s congressional representatives who represent the state’s rural communities continue to chip away at the massive federal public lands under the control of various federal agencies in an effort to aid economic development and recreational opportunities. Both managed to get bills passed out of the House this past week. Republican Rep. Cresent Hardy of Mesquite saw … [Read more...]