WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forestry, and Mining held a hearing where they considered U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen’s (D-NV) Pershing County Economic Development and Conservation Act. This came after a letter from the Senator requesting the hearing. The bill would expand protections for and improve the management of federal public lands in Pershing County and create new conservation and recreation opportunities, while ensuring the revenue from land sales stay in the county.
This bill was drafted in collaboration with local officials and stakeholders in order to support long-term economic growth for Pershing County’s rural communities, while also conserving critical landscapes and areas that are important for recreation. The bill would also transfer land into trust for the Lovelock Paiute Tribe to support the expansion of their Tribal cemetery. This legislation has the support of county commissioners, ranchers, the mining industry, recreationists, conservationists, and private landowners.
“As Nevada continues to grow, we need to make sure that federal lands are being used in a way that fits the needs of our growing local communities,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m happy to see this bill has gotten a hearing and is one step closer to becoming law so we can support responsible economic development in Pershing County and conserve land that contains critical habitat and active recreation areas. This bill will help boost the local economy and critical industries like mining, while also protecting more than 130,000 acres of public lands. I’ll keep working to ensure this bill becomes law.”
The Pershing County Economic Development and Conservation Act:
- Resolves the checkerboard of alternating parcels of public and private land in Pershing County to allow for more effective land management, and creates new economic development and conservation opportunities.
- Allows specific mining lands to be sold to support the mining industry in Pershing County, a key economic driver in the community, and funds new conservation and restoration activities.
- Requires revenue from land sales to stay in Pershing County to obtain, conserve, and protect environmentally sensitive areas and support outdoor recreation.
- Transfers land into trust for the Lovelock Paiute Tribe to expand their Tribal cemetery.
- Designates over 130,000 acres of public lands as wilderness.
As a Senator from the state with the highest percentage of public land in the country, Senator Rosen has worked tirelessly to improve access to and protection of Nevada’s public lands. She introduced the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act, also known as the Washoe County Lands Bill, to expand economic development opportunities and make more land available for housing in Washoe County, support local Tribal communities, increase access to outdoor recreation, and protect public lands. Senator Rosen has also pushed the Environment and Natural Resources Committee to hold a hearing on this critically important bill as well. The Senator is a strong supporter of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. She has secured resources for Nevada’s parks, growing Nevada’s outdoor recreation and local tourism economies by delivering nearly $300,000 for facility and accessibility improvements at Harvey Sports Park in Tonopah, and more than $600,000 for campsite improvements at the Wild Horse State Recreation Area in Elko.
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