skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, December 4, 2023

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

NH gun-safety advocates advise services, bipartisan laws after deadly shootings; Food banks, pantries address rising food insecurity during winter holidays; Despite cost debate, some MN businesses intrigued by paid-leave law.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Muslim American leaders in swing states like Michigan threaten to Abandon Biden, VP Harris criticizes greenwashing at COP28, former congresswoman Cheney calls the GOP a "threat," and George Santos is expelled.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Congress has iced the Farm Bill, but farmer advocates argue some portions are urgent, the Hoosier State is reaping big rewards from wind and solar, and opponents react to a road through Alaska's Brooks Range, long a dream destination for hunters and anglers.

NV Landscapes Receive Hefty BLM Investment for Conservation and Resiliency

play audio
Play

Thursday, June 22, 2023   

The Bureau of Land Management recently announced a $161 million investment in ecosystem restoration and resilience work on 21 different landscapes across 11 western states, one of which is Nevada.

The Montana Mountains in the northwest part of the state will be allocated $6 million for aquatic restoration and conservation.

Carl Erquiaga, Nevada field representative for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, said the landscape is home to wildlife relying on sagebrush, and pointed out the area faces climate change challenges such as fire and drought.

"What we all need to realize is that if you improve the sagebrush habitat just about everything else out there benefits from it," Erquiaga explained. "Mule deer are sagebrush obligates, elk, pronghorn. Those kinds of things stabilize streams for fisheries and riparian areas. It all dovetails together."

Erquiaga noted the Humboldt O'Neil Basin will also receive a $6 million investment but is an area with more water. According to the BLM, the presence of perennial water favors the threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout as well as supports critical habitat and migration corridors for big game.

Erquiaga argued public lands are what make Nevada unique. The BLM manages 67% of Nevada, or 48 million acres of public lands. Erquiaga acknowledged many Nevadans are used to "stepping out their back door," and being able to enjoy the outdoors. Erquiaga would like to see management plans in Nevada updated to reflect what is important now.

"Most of those resource management plans are '1980s vintage,'" Erquiaga stressed. "The northwest corner of the state, where the Montana Mountains are, that one has been revised more recently. It is more up to date. We just looked at everything multiple use, we looked at it all differently in the 1980s than we do now."

Erquiaga recognized while management plans have been amended to be more relevant to specific issues, he thinks of those items as what he calls "add-ons," which he said sometimes lack relevancy and urgency to take appropriate conservation action in a more comprehensive way.

Disclosure: The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Endangered Species and Wildlife, Environment, and Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
According to data by SCORE, 75% of small business owners donate an average of 6% of their profits to charitable organizations each year. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Small Business Saturday has come and gone and the North Carolina Sustainable Business Council urged people to keep "shopping local" this season…


Social Issues

play sound

Gun-safety advocates in New Hampshire are urging Gov. Chris Sununu to back policies proven to reduce gun violence following a series of deadly …

Social Issues

play sound

A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found the repayment process for federal student loans has been filled with errors…


Minnesota's new paid leave law, scheduled to take effect in 2026, will distribute benefits through a state-operated insurance pool funded by employers and employees. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Minnesota is two years away from enacting its new paid leave law and while the debate over costs has resurfaced, some in the small business community …

Social Issues

play sound

A lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's collective near-total bargaining ban for most public workers is by some seen as a way to bolster the state's beleagu…

The Environmental Protection Agency is working on rules that will incentivize the transition to heavy-duty electric vehicles. (VanderWolf Images/Adobestock)

play sound

As the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai wraps up, Democratic lawmakers and clean-air advocates are calling on the Environmental …

Environment

play sound

NASA-funded research using satellites to study atmospheric nitrogen will examine how different farming approaches affect greenhouse gas emissions…

play sound

The American Gas Association misled the public on the health effects of burning gas for decades. Now, a coalition wants the Washington State …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021