Pershing County/Northern Nevada Lands bill reintroduced in 2025 Congress
Update: On March 25, Northern Nevada Congressman Mark Amodei reintroduced the Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Northern Nevada public lands bill. Despite the Congressman's best effort, the 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 bill would create seven new Wilderness Areas in Pershing County and Douglas Counties 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 in 2025,” 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 move forward in this session of Congress."
See the Congressman's press release here.
The original bill would have designated more than 136,000 acres of new Wilderness Areas:
- Fencemaker - at the northern end of the Stillwater Range (Much of the range to the south in Churchill County received permanent conservation designations in 2022 legislation)
- Grandfathers' (Tobin Crest)
- Cain Mountain (Portions of the former Augusta Mountains WSA have already been designated as Cain Mountain Wilderness in Lander and Churchill Counties)
- Bluewing
- Selenite Peak
- Mt. Limbo
- North Sahwave
Senator Rosen’s bill would also transfer land into trust to the Lovelock Paiute Tribe to expand their tribal cemetery.
Overall, the bill protects a significant amount of land for conservation and recreation use for future generations; keeps proceeds from the sale of a limited amount of public land in Pershing County to buy, conserve and protect additional sensitive lands; allows current mining claim holders to contribute to the Pershing County economy and resolves the unmanageable checkerboard land pattern that has strangled wise use of the land.
Previous versions of the bill have been supported by former and current Nevada elected officials. Friends is hopeful that the legislation will move through Congress this year and finally be signed into law. We thank Congressman Amodei and Senator Rosen for their leadership in championing the bill.
