Lyon County wants to do everything possible to see the Yerington lands bill passed by Congress, and Lyon County Commissioner Virgil Arellano said that includes a vigorous social media campaign to convince members of congress to move the bill forward for vote in the House and Senate.
The Yerington lands bill is one of seven Nevada lands bills that finally made it out of committee early in August. Humboldt County's lands bill, the Pine Forest Range Recreation Enhancement Act, is among the seven.
The Lyon County Economic Development and Conservation Act seeks a way for Yerington to partner with Nevada Copper to purchase - at fair market value -some 12,500 acres of federal lands. Those lands would be annexed to the city. The act would also allow the transfer of 19 square miles of land from the Bureau of Land Management to the city of Yerington for economic development use.
Arellano told Humboldt County commissioners that the act will open the way for hundreds of well-paying jobs in Lyon County.
"I'm not going go get into the frustrations that a lot of the rural counties have with Congress," Arellano said. "You have the Pine Forest bill and we have the Lyon County bill that's been out there for three years."
Arellano said without an overwhelming response from Nevadans he fears the seven lands bill package will not be passed.
"The challenge is that, even though the provisions in these bills are supported by the entire Nevada congressional delegation, they need to be scheduled for action in a Congress where they will be competing with thousands of other bills for floor time; it's gridlock," said Arellano.
"We launched a social media campaign in March," said Arellano. "Congress goes back into session Sept. 8. Congress needs to hear from you, from every Nevadan; they need to be made aware of the effect on rural counties."
Arellano said the "Pass Bills, Create Jobs" social media campaign is a grassroots initiative to support Nevada senators and congressional representatives who are committed to work for passage of the seven lands bills.
"Unlike letters and cards, social media cannot be thrown in the trash or ignored," said Arellano.
He asked the commissioners to get the word out to their counties to join the cause at www.passbillscreatejobs.com. He urged all in Humboldt County to join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter by "liking," sharing, and commenting.
Humboldt County commissioners were in support of Arellano's social media campaign idea.[[In-content Ad]]
