NV Resolution Seeks State Control of Federal Lands
Monday, March 2, 2015
CARSON CITY, Nev. – State lawmakers are considering a resolution that seeks state control of some federal public lands, which account for more than 80 percent of all land in Nevada.
Senate Joint Resolution 1 (S.J.R.1) calls on Congress to enact legislation transferring title.
But David von Seggern, chairman of the Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club in Nevada, says there's a century-and-a-half of history showing the state's inability to hold onto land.
"The state does not have a good record of taking care of public lands,” he maintains. “It had a big input of public lands when it became a state – 4 million acres – and now it's down to 3,000 acres."
Von Seggern says a survey from the Center for American Progress shows the majority of Nevadans, and people throughout much of the West, oppose states taking control of federally managed public lands.
The Senate resolution cites a report from the Nevada Land Management Task Force. It projects the state could generate millions of dollars from oil and gas exploration if it controlled more land.
Von Seggern stresses Nevada does not have the money to maintain the federal lands, and says the state could be forced to sell land if there were a budget shortage.
"In the federal budgets, there's a cushion – they can run up debt,” he points out. “The state budgets, they have to balance the budget every year, so that if they get in trouble trying to manage these public lands, they'll quickly turn to sale of the public lands."
The Sierra Club is among several groups participating in a rally on this issue scheduled to start at 1 p.m. today at the state legislature.
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