Wild Washoe public lands bill introduced in Congress!
January 16, 2024 - The years of time and effort invested by Friends, other conservation groups, tribal leaders and others paid off today 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.
Mountain West News Bureau features Friends' Whitebark pine project
January 4, 2024 - Friends' project to help save a threatened species was featured in a story aired today by the Mountain West News Bureau, carried on public radio stations in six western states. Friends partnered with BLM to first protect, then later gather seeds from the threatened Whitebark pine growing high in the Wilderness in NW Nevada.
Looking back, it was great…looking forward it’ll be even better
January 3, 2024 – Friends experienced a number of “firsts” in 2023 of which we’re pretty proud, and we look forward to experiencing more firsts in the coming year as we celebrate our 40th anniversary in Nevada and the 60th anniversary of the federal Wilderness Act.
Congressman Horsford introduces bill to protect Desert Refuge
November 7 – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) introduced legislation to allow the U.S. Air Force to place vital training equipment for the Nevada Test and Training Range within small tracts of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. The bill would also permanently protect over 700,000 acres of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness to ensure those lands remain accessible for hunting, recreation, and wildlife management.
Sen. Cortez Masto proposes Wilderness in Desert Refuge
October 27, 2023 - As reported by the Nevada Independent, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto has introduced legislation that would expand military use and conservation protections at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR), offering up a compromise that could balance both Air Force and environmentalist priorities in one of the few bills expected to pass in a dysfunctional Congress this year. The bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Jacky Rosen.
We need you NOW to Speak Up and Out to Keep Washoe Wild!
September 14, 2023 - The Washoe County Commission will take a critically important vote this Tuesday on a resolution encouraging Congress to protect hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands with a permanent conservation designation.
Spring Mountains National Recreation Area to Remain Closed
August 26, 2023 -Due to the historic flash flooding event associated with Tropical Storm Hillary, the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest issued an Emergency Closure Order for the entireSpring Mountains National Recreation Area until further notice. Public safety is the highest priority for the Forest Service.
Friends of Nevada Wilderness crews make popular White’s Creek Trail safer, easier to use
August 22, 2023 – Staff and volunteers with Friends of Nevada Wilderness have wrapped up a multi-day project to improve White’s Creek Trail, making the highly-popular trail in the Mount Rose Wilderness much safer for hikers and equestrians.
Latino families invited to hike with Friends this weekend to observe Latino Conservation Week
July 19, 2023 - Friends of Nevada Wilderness invites Reno/Sparks area Latino families to hike the beautiful Jones-Whites Creek Trail this Saturday in celebration of Latino Conservation Week. The trail is a relatively level 1.7-mile loop, easy enough for the entire family.
BLM needs more resources to properly manage public lands
June 16, 2023 - The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for managing nearly two-thirds of the land in Nevada, almost 48 million acres. Because these public lands are used in a variety of ways, proper management requires full staffing with a wide range of expertise and adequate planning tools. Unfortunately, BLM for too long has lacked the resources it needs and it's time for that to change as demands on the Bureau continue to grow.
