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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Lawmakers Speak Out Against Trump Plan to Seize NV Conservation Dollars

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Wednesday, February 14, 2018   

CARSON CITY, Nev. – Both of Nevada's U.S. senators are joining conservation groups to fight a provision in President Donald Trump's 2019 budget proposal that would drain $230 million from a fund that helps acquire new lands for public benefit.

The budget would clear out any unspent funds in the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act special account at the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The fund was set up in 1998, as a compromise to set aside money for conservation by selling some public lands to developers in the Las Vegas area.

As David von Seggern, past president and current member of the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter, puts it, the Trump administration shouldn't double-cross the people of Nevada.

"That money was a promise to Nevada citizens," said von Seggern, "so any attempt to take away those funds, I think, is not only wrong, but may be illegal."

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Dean Heller, as well as Rep. Dina Titus, have criticized this move to redirect $230 million to the Interior Department's general fund.

The budget proposal calls for an overall 14-percent cut to the Interior Department budget. President Trump has defended the plan, saying cuts to domestic spending are necessary to better fund defense and national security priorities.

Von Seggern notes that the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act has been used to expand Red Rock National Conservation Area, and many other projects in every county across the state.

"This mitigation fund provides money for us to acquire lands for public use, for restoration projects, for various recreation projects," he explains. "In a way, the growth of Las Vegas has given many benefits to Nevada through this fund. "

Other projects funded with the money include Craig Ranch Regional Park in Las Vegas, and a project to put in a fire break at Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, removing vegetation so firefighters could protect nearby homes.

The president's budget proposal now serves as a starting point for Congress to hammer out an actual budget for fiscal year 2019.



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