Divisive federal land grab legislation gets its first hearing

A retread of the Sagebrush Rebellion is ramping up in the Legislature thanks to a GOP-backed measure calling upon the federal government to transfer 7.2 million acres for the state to manage. The effort, backed by 10 Republicans, repeats a decades-old rallying cry in the West that puts lawmakers and constituents at ideological odds about Nevada’s ability to manage more property without costing taxpayers money. Senators in a legislative operations committee met Monday for more than two hours to hear public testimony on the proposed resolution, SJR1. Dozens of supporters and opponents filled committee rooms in Carson City, Elko and Las Vegas to provide input on the bill, diving into a topic that involves some of the most complicated and emotionally charged land issues in the West. Nevada has been in this position before. It considered a similar proposal in 2001 and was a state at the forefront of a public lands debate known as the Sagebrush Rebellion in the 1970s. Nevada’s efforts dovetail with similar efforts currently in Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and New Mexico...more