Nevada Legislature approves resolution urging transfer of federal lands

A Senate resolution that asks Congress to convey more than 7 million acres of federal land to state control won final passage Monday in the Nevada Legislature. Senate Joint Resolution 1, which passed the Senate on a 11-10 party-line vote in April, was approved on a 24-17 party-line vote in the Assembly as well with Republicans in support. The measure has generated heated hearings this session, with public lands advocates in opposition and many rural residents and their representatives in favor. The transfer of the public lands being proposed in the measure include lands in the original railroad corridor across Northern Nevada, called checkerboard lands, and lands already identified for disposal by federal agencies, among other acreage that would total 7.3 million acres or about 10 percent of the public lands total in a first phase. About 81 percent of Nevada is under the control of various federal agencies, with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management overseeing the largest share. Gov. Brian Sandoval, U.S. Sen. Dean Heller and other Nevada GOP political leaders favor the transfer. But outdoor and conservation groups oppose the idea, arguing that the lands will be disposed of by the state to private interests, reducing the amount of land open to the public across the state. If the lands are retained by the state, the groups argue that it could not afford to maintain them with costs from wildfires and related expenses...more