Pershing County Lands Bill
Pershing County/Northern Nevada Lands bill fails to clear Congress
Despite the best efforts of Congressman Mark Amodei, the Pershing County conservation proposals and the entire Northern Nevada public lands bill did not clear Congress in the final days of the 2024 session.
A priority for both Congressman Mark Amodei and Senator Jacky Rosen, the original bill would have created seven new Wilderness Areas in Pershing County and helped resolve the more than century-old checkerboard pattern of land ownership that inhibits use of the land for both conservation and economic development purposes.
“Friends is very grateful to Senator Rosen and Congressman Amodei for reintroducing the Pershing County bill in 2024” said Executive Director Shaaron Netherton. “We have been active partners with stakeholders and local governments working to resolve public lands issues in Pershing County for a over a decade. We are hopeful the legislation will be re-introduced in 2025."
Support Wild Washoe
Senator Rosen reintroduces the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act!
We are very grateful to Senator Jacky Rosen for reintroducing the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act on February 6, 2025. While the bill was voted out of a key Senate Committee in the last Congress, it failed to get final approval. We truly appreciate Senator Rosen's tenacity and commitment to this legislation. Read Senator Rosen's announcement here.
The Act would protect nearly a million acres of public lands in northern Washoe County; lands valued for their dispersed recreation, wildlife habitat, dark sky and cultural values.
We are so grateful to the Senator and her hard-working staff for the many hours they spent conferring with a variety of stakeholders to craft a well-balanced public lands bill. Friends' staff worked tirelessly with Senator Rosen's staff to resolve on-the-ground issues, create and re-create detailed maps and generate public support for the conservation component.
Burbank Canyons
Burbank Canyons is a beautiful little 13,395-acre area in Douglas County with perennial streams, aspen groves, great hiking, and excellent solitude. Raptors, mule deer, bear, mountain lion, sage grouse, and various bird species live here. Wilderness designation will give it permanent protection.
Its protection has been included in various versions of the Douglas County Public lands bill over the past decade. Currently it is included as part of HR 5243, the Northern Nevada Economic Development, Conservation and Military Modernization Act of 2021, introduced by Congressman Amodei 9/14/21. While we had hoped this beautiful area would finally get permanent protection in 2024, Congressman Amodei's bill did not make it through the House by the end of the session. We will work with his office early in the new year to get the bill re-introduced in the new Congress.
Nye Country - the Heart of the Great Basin
Once again, our tried-and-true strategy to listen to stakeholders’ concerns, negotiate in good faith, assist in seeking out common-sense solutions and just plain hang in there, has resulted in a local agreement to designate almost 427,000 acres of new Wilderness Area in Nye County. We’re also very excited that local officials have agreed to what we’re calling the 216,000 acre Lunar Starlight National Conservation Area, a historic effort to preserve a truly unique Western landscape.
We will look to Senator Rosen and Congressman Horsford and their staff to condense all of this hard work into federal legislation that we fervently hope will come to pass. Nye County is home to some of the crown jewels of wild lands and we are cautiously optimistic that Nye could become the wild heart of the Great Basin.