CARSON CITY, Nev. -- More than 2 million acres in southern Nevada would get wilderness protections under a new bill introduced in Congress on Tuesday, the largest conservation bill in state history.

The Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act would add 1.3 million acres to the Desert National Wildlife Refuge north of Las Vegas.

Shaaron Netherton, executive director for the nonprofit Friends of Nevada Wilderness, said it will provide more places for urban dwellers to experience nature, while also protecting wildlife habitat.

"For the last four years, we've been working on keeping the military from taking over more of that wildlife refuge and making sure that it stays open to the public," Netherton explained.

The bill would also establish a funding stream for climate and sustainability projects, facilitate more affordable housing and open up 30,000 acres near Las Vegas to development.

The bipartisan bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and in the House by Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev.

The House version is co-sponsored by Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., who said in a statement it "carefully balances economic development, natural resources management, and conservation."

The bill also would add 50,000 acres to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Sheila Billingsley, treasurer for the nonprofit Save Red Rock, said she's glad the area between Highways 159 and 160 will be protected from development.

"The conservation area has seen a huge population growth, over 400% in this COVID year," Billingsley pointed out. "And Save Red Rock feels that this will take some of the pressure off Red Rock,"

The bill also would increase the protected Special Management Areas around Clark County by 350,000 acres.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.


get more stories like this via email

HELENA, Mont. -- Wildlife managers and biologists in Montana are airing their frustration over how the state is managing its natural resources.

A group of retired and former wildlife managers who boast nearly 1,500 years of experience combined said Montana leadership is politicizing management in ways that are harmful to predators, hunters and habitat conservation.

Chris Servheen, former grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said state and federal-level managers want leaders to know they are disheartened with the direction Montana is taking.

"This is not something that is accepted by professional wildlife biologists, and it's not right, and it's not going to be beneficial to Montana and the wildlife in Montana," Servheen argued. "And it's really disturbing to see this partisan nature of what's happening now."

In their published opinion piece, the managers and biologists say they believe the leaders of the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) appointed by Gov. Gianforte are focused on special interests like privatizing and commercializing elk hunting and are not using science to guide their decisions.

MFWP has proposed changes to elk and deer hunting it said will simplify regulations. The governor's office did not return a request for comment.

Dan Vermillion, a former commissioner on the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission for 13 years, believes the state has approved controversial methods for hunting predators like wolves, outside of fair chase hunting ethics and signal a move away from bipartisan wildlife management.

"The idea that the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission would approve a regulation that uses the word night and hunting and bait all in one sentence tells you how far they've strayed from the original and the traditional, historical approach to wildlife management in Montana," Vermillion asserted.

Wildlife managers and biologists in Montana are also concerned baited neck snares and leg-hold traps will also ensnare other predators. Lawmakers have said the changes are needed because of reduced elk and deer populations.

LINCOLN, Mont. - Residents in western Montana have proposed a unique approach to managing the landscape.

The Lincoln Prosperity Group includes conservationists, loggers, motorized-vehicle users and other seemingly disparate members. Karyn Good is a resident of Lincoln, a town northwest of Helena.

"We were a group with diverse interests who agreed whole heartedly on one thing, and that is that the status quo was not working." said Good. "And that was, sort of, our starting point."

The proposal calls for managing 200,000 acres of public lands surrounding Lincoln through a mix of conservation, forest restoration and outdoor recreation. Good said she believes the group came up with a well-balanced plan...

"Developing new mountain bike and ATV trails." said Good. "It establishes nearly 70,000 acres that will be managed for restoration, which is logging practices. And it expands the Scapegoat Wilderness and designates a new wilderness in Nevada Mountain."

The Lincoln Prosperity Proposal would create the first stand-alone wilderness area - at Nevada Mountain - in nearly 40 years.

Good said the proposal sets aside land for forest restoration to reduce the growing threat from wildfires. She said it also has economic benefits for the town, largely through recreation dollars.

Zach Angstead is the field director in Great Falls for Wild Montana, which is part of the group. He said the plan brings a holistic approach to protecting the landscape.

"The Lincoln Prosperity Proposal is a proposal looking to really expand how we think about managing our national forest land and doing that to the benefit of the people of Lincoln," said Angstead.

Russ Ehnes is president of the Great Falls Trail Bike Riders Association, which also is part of Lincoln group. He said motorized vehicle users have been working over the past two decades to improve trails in the valley.

Ehnes said there was plenty of give and take while developing the proposal.

"When it all came together," said Ehnes, "it was really a situation where every single one of us at the table could see that by having this kind of a collaborative solution, there was something in it that made our lives better."

The Lincoln Prosperity Group has been working with Montana's senators to get a measure introduced in Congress.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Hundreds of Oregon businesses have signaled their support for legislation protecting rivers across the state.

In an open letter, more than 200 businesses have thanked Sen. Ron Wyden - D-Ore. - and Sen. Jeff Merkley - D-Ore. - for introducing the River Democracy Act. The measure would protect about 4,700 miles of rivers in Oregon as wild and scenic.

The rivers were selected through a public nomination process. Chris Daughters, who signed the letter, owns the Caddis Fly Angling Shop in Eugene.

"While I'm in the angling business and I love clean water and high-quality habitat for all types of fish," said Daughters, "which Oregon is blessed to have a lot of - that's also really good for drinking water. And this act protects both of those things."

Outdoor recreation is a $7.2 billion industry in Oregon, according to the Outdoor Industry Association. Currently, only about 2%, or fewer than 2,200 of the state's 110,000 river miles, have the highest protections as wild and scenic.

Patrick Kruse is founder of Ruffwear, which builds outdoor gear for dogs in Bend. He also signed the letter.

"Having these places that we can go and take a swim or play in the waves, or go kayaking," said Kruse. "I think those really are what bring us back to our environment and what really recharge us."

Over the summer, more than 50 Oregon breweries also voiced their support for the River Democracy Act.

A poll from January found 87% of likely voters in Oregon support additional wild and scenic river protections, including 75% of Republicans.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.