Should Nevada ask Congress for control of more of the public land within the state's borders? That's the question the Nevada Lands Management Task Force 17-member committee has been working many months to answer.
The 2013 Nevada Legislature passed a measure calling for a committee comprised of representatives from each county in Nevada to study all of the issues surrounding a possible state request for control of more of the public lands. Those issues included the cost for managing the land, possible revenue derived from managing the land for school support, and other needs, which lands might be requested, and what would happen to the existing uses on those public lands, among many other questions.
The committee has taken testimony from a cadre of experts in many fields and has heard much public comment. Each county representative has been asked to arrange for the presentation of the draft report in a public meeting, and that public meeting is being held in Winnemucca on Monday, May 19 at 6 p.m. in the upstairs meeting room at the Humboldt County Courthouse.
The task force hired a consultant, Mike Baughman, to synthesize all of the testimony and discussions and prepare the report. Baughman is very familiar with the issues surrounding the land transfer question, and has attended the task force meetings. He will present the draft report at the meeting Monday night and will be able to answer questions from those in attendance and take their comment for consideration by the committee before the final report is presented to the Legislative Committee on Public Lands.
The Legislature requested that county representatives ensure the task force report included input from as many people as were wiling to participate in the process.
Commissioner Dan Cassinelli has been Humboldt County's representative to the task force; Cassinelli urged residents of both the city and county to attend the meeting to hear the task force report, ask any questions they may have and give input.[[In-content Ad]]
