Nevada BLM director addresses Regional Advisory Councils

The Trump administration may bring changes to managing sage grouse and wild horses, Bureau of Land Management Nevada State Director John Ruhs said Tuesday at the Elko Convention Center. “We go clear back to the Declaration of Independence with ties to what the Bureau of Land Management does,” said Ruhs. In 1785 the land ordinance was passed and it initiated the first survey, he said. “It was significant because that marked the beginning of time when we started to identify the public domain and put it out for people to buy and start settling the country.” According to Ruhs the soldiers of the Revolutionary War had been promised land and this was a way to dispose of lands to them for payment. “The purpose of the General Land Office was to promote settlement and move people west,” said Ruhs. Ruhs went on to identify some general facts about the BLM. In Nevada the agency manages 48 million surface acres in Nevada and 59 million acres of sub-surface. The federal government manages 82 percent of the state. “We have some of the largest programs in the BLM as relate to mining and fire,” said Ruhs. “We have the most public lands available for grazing.”...He then talked about a little bit about the new administration and his meeting last week with Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. “The five high profiles that this administration is focuses on is making America safe through energy independence; making America great through shared conservation stewardship; making America safe and restoring our sovereignty; getting America back to work; and serving the American family,” said Ruhs...more