Friends of Nevada Wilderness DONATE VOLUNTEER TAKE ACTION
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We hope you had a joyous time ringing in 2018! With the New Year, we face new challenges and opportunities for Wilderness in Nevada and we will need your help to protect our state’s most precious wild lands. Now is the time to take action to defend the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. The military has released the Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS) outlining their plans to take over an additional 300,000 acres of this desert sanctuary. The release of the LEIS has opened a 90 day public comment period that will end on March 8. Click here to submit your comments in opposition to this assault on our public lands.

In more optimistic news, the Pershing County Public Lands Bill (H.R. 1107) has passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives with unanimous support and it is now on its way to the Senate. Friends has been hard at work on this bill for many years and we are very excited about its quick progress and bipartisan support. Hopefully we will be adding 162,000 acres of new Wilderness in Pershing County, Nevada, very soon. Here's to starting 2018 off with a big Wilderness win!

Public Hearing Attendees tell NTTR “#DontBombTheBighorn”


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A battle is raging for the heart and soul of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge located just outside of Las Vegas. The military is attempting to grab an additional 300,000 acres of proposed Wilderness within the refuge. The public would be kicked out and the Alamo Road closed. The military is hosting a series of meetings to find out what you think about their proposals – we think they stink.

A huge thank you to everyone who turned out for the public meetings to testify in support of the Desert Refuge and push back on the military’s expansion plans. About 250 people attended the January 23rd hearing in Las Vegas and ALL voices who chose to make a public comment, more than 50, opposed the military take-over. Friends kicked off the evening with a rally for #DontBombTheBighorn campaign supporters prior to the meeting (pictured above).

The night was an overwhelming success for the Desert Refuge. If you were not able to attend, don’t worry! The comment period will be open until March 8, 2018 for all those who would like to add their viewpoint. Tell Nellis #DontBombTheBighorn!

Donate to help save the Desert National Wildlife Refuge!
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OHV Outreach & Stewardship in South McCullough Wilderness

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With a grant from the State of Nevada Commission on Off-Highway Vehicles, and the commitment and support of all of our dedicated volunteers, we’ve started off the New Year strong with an ambitious project along the boundary of the South McCullough Wilderness. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Friends of Nevada Wilderness and nine volunteers worked to protect the Wilderness from illegal vehicle use.

The volunteers installed over four-hundred feet of barrier and a new informational panel. A dedicated group of volunteers can make a big difference in a short time-frame. In the coming weeks we will have more projects and we hope you will join us.

Friends is happy to partner with the BLM to prevent habitat erosion from illegal OHV use. We want to partner with riders in southern Nevada to help them and their members avoid inadvertently riding in the Wilderness.

To raise awareness, we are installing kiosks to help spread the word about responsible recreation. During our projects we are also installing post and cable vehicle barriers to separate areas open to OHV use from Wilderness.


Southern Nevada BLM Reboots their Resource Management Plan

 

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The BLM's Southern Nevada District Office has rebooted its revision of the Resource Management Plan (RMP), which will direct how the BLM will manage the public lands in Southern Nevada for the next 20 years. The BLM is currently in the initial process of collecting scoping comments from the public and cooperating agencies regarding this RMP. Friends of Nevada Wilderness will be reiterating comments we previously submitted for a prior draft RMP, and will be providing additional information about the revised Lands with Wilderness Characteristics (LWC) inventory released by the BLM in late 2017.

This initial scoping for the Southern Nevada District Office RMP is an excellent opportunity for the public to offer comments that can help shape how the draft RMP will look. Written comments from concerned citizens are due by February 2 and can be submitted in the following ways:

  • E-mail: [email protected]
  • Fax: (702) 515-5023
  • Mail: BLM Southern Nevada District Office, Southern Nevada District RMP Revision, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130

Updates From the Field: Women's March in Reno


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Friends of Nevada Wilderness staff and members marched in support of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge at the second annual Women's March in Reno. Those marching in our group wore #DontBombTheBighorn T-shirts to show our support for our public lands, women in conservation, and environmental justice for our Wilderness areas and wildlife refuges! 

Save the Date: Friends Appreciation Picnic, Southern Nevada

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Friends of Nevada Wilderness is excited to recognize 2017's awesome volunteers, members and friends at our annual Friends Appreciation Picnic! This event is to celebrate YOU and thank you for your support of Friends of Nevada Wilderness - whether you volunteered on a project, signed a petition, or donated - we want you there to celebrate.

Join us at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center on February 24th from 12:30 to 2:30.  Get ready for a potluck style picnic - we'll provide the main course, refreshments, and dessert. Bring your favorite side dish or dessert and/or a salsa to enter into our Salsa Contest! And of course, we'll have a fun Wilderness game to play. There's no studying necessary, you'll have everything you need at the picnic and you could win a prize!

We truly appreciate all of our supporters and will recognize some of last year’s rockstars and standout partners.

Please RSVP so we can plan accordingly. If you have questions or concerns give us a call at our office (702) 515-5417. We hope to see you there!

Upcoming Events


We hope to see you at one of our next events! You can find our full Calendar of Events here, and you can RSVP for individual events in the links found in the list below. If we don't have anything scheduled during your times of availability, respond to this e-mail or call our office in Northern Nevada at (775) 324-7667 or in Southern Nevada at  (702) 515-5417 to be placed on a shortlist for future volunteer opportunities. 

North

We are in the quiet of the winter season in Northern Nevada, but you can always call our office to find a way to get involved.

South

February 1: Wild Speaker Series - Join us as we welcome Go Mt. Charleston’s Jennifer Humphreys (Interpretive Naturalist) and Dion Nicolas (Program Coordinator) for a presentation about Mt. Charleston’s recreational areas, volunteer opportunities and how you can be better stewards when in the Spring Mountains this winter season. 

February 3: Jean Dry Lake Kiosk Construction - Join us at Jean dry lake to help spread the word about responsible recreation! We'll spend the morning building a kiosk at a popular staging area just outside of Jean, NV. It will include a map of the area, Tread Lightly information, and interpretation about plants and animals. Afterwards, you can also join us at the Tread Lightly trailer for cold drinks and food off the grill (see below)!

February 3: Tread Lightly Outreach at Jean Lake - Join us at Jean dry lake to help spread the word about responsible recreation! Find us at the Tread Lightly trailer for cold drinks and food off the grill. We’ll talk to folks that stop by about great places to explore, how to minimize your impact when playing in the outdoors, and how to get involved. Spend the whole day or stop by to say hello! You can also join us earlier in the morning to install a kiosk (see above).

February 10: South McCullough Wilderness Barrier Project - Join the Friends of Nevada Wilderness for a fun-filled day protecting wild Nevada through a wilderness barrier project. We'll be heading to South McCullough Wilderness to install post and cable barriers along the boundary, preventing future wilderness incursions and protecting the vast array of species that call this wild place home.

February 11: Muddy Mountains Wilderness Trailwork - Join us for a day of trailwork in Muddy Mountains Wilderness! We'll improve the Arch Trail, which leads hikers over a knobby red rock ridgeline and down into Hidden Valley, ultimately reaching a large sandstone arch. Hidden Valley is one of the gems of the Mojave and a wonderful place to take in the grandeur of wilderness. 

February 17: Help Establish Gass Peak Trail - We're teaming up with the Sierra Club for a weekend of stewardship in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge! Gass Peak Trail leads hikers to the highest point of the Las Vegas Range and provides striking views: the city lights of Las Vegas to the south and a vast wilderness to the north. We'll be installing wooden posts to define a parking area of Gass Peak Trail, as well as restoring the old roads behind the parking area, guiding people along the proper trail. Consider joining us for a campout after the project!


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Thanks for reading,
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Friends of Nevada Wilderness · 1360 Greg St, Suite 111, Sparks, NV 89431, United States
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