Pershing County Lands Bill
Clock ticking on Pershing County Lands bill
Friends continues to closely monitor progress of an important piece of legislation, the Pershing County public lands bill, now on a bi-partisan track through Congress.
A priority for both Congressman Mark Amodei and Senator Jacky Rosen, the bill would create seven new Wilderness Areas in Pershing County and help 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,” 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 excited about the seven beautiful Wilderness areas and we are also excited for the opportunity to block up public and private lands to support appropriate development including green energy along with better conservation and management in the checkerboard area along the railroad and I-80 corridor.”
Support Wild Washoe
The years of time and effort invested by Friends, other conservation groups, tribal leaders and others paid off in 2024 when Senator Jacky Rosen introduced the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act in the United States Senate. 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 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. Watch Senator Rosen discuss her landmark proposal below.
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. We hope to see this beautiful area get permanent protection in 2022.
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.
