More than 70 Nevada Conservation Advocates Attended in Support of Stronger Public Lands Protections
Reno, Nevada – Last night, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) held an informational meeting about the Public Lands Rule announced earlier this year. The Nevada Conservation League and more than 70 conservation advocates attended the meeting in support of protecting public lands, wildlife, unique cultural and natural resources, and responsible development. This informational meeting was part of the Bureau’s 75-day comment period to gather public feedback from western states.
“Due to the high activity in extraction and other commodity-driven development, we believe it’s critical that we work to establish stronger measures to protect our beloved public lands. If done with our considerations in mind, we believe that the Public Lands Rule can serve as an important tool to set aside lands for wildlife protection, offer refuge to wildlife, safeguard culturally significant resources, and provide opportunities for outdoor recreation. We hope to see swift measures to protect our public lands, and thank the Bureau of Land Management for opening this process to the public,” said Nevada Conservation League’s Community Organizer, Trystin St. Denis.
With rapid changes occurring due to nature loss, drought, wildfire and other climate-related impacts to communities, the rule comes at a crucial time to make public lands a solution for reaching the national goal of saving 30% of US lands and waters by 2030. Nevada became the first state in the nation to pass legislation to conserve 30% of the state’s public lands by 2030. As of this year, 87% of Nevada voters support the 30×30 initiative to conserve more public lands. Now, Nevadans are advocating to further strengthen public lands protections in the state.
Currently, nearly 40% of all U.S. public lands are overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, and over 63% in Nevada. Yet 90% of these lands are open to extraction and other commodity-driven development. The rule could clearly define conservation leases by evaluating environmental impacts and land use, in turn supporting responsible development, balancing a growing recreation economy, and renewable energy projects in the state.
Public comments will be accepted here through June 21, 2023.
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