BATTLE MOUNTAIN - On Dec. 12, the Lander County Commission will be discussing an important issue regarding Nevada's public lands.
AB277, passed during the 2013 Nevada Legislative session, created a statewide task force to study issues surrounding how public lands controlled by the federal government would be managed if they are transferred to the state of Nevada.
This statewide task force is made up of a representative from each of Nevada's 17 counties, including Commissioner Patsy Waits from Lander County.
As many of Nevada's rural counties are aware, Nevada has the highest percentage of federally managed land in the U.S., at more than 80 percent.
The charge of the task force is to produce a study that will include an identification of federal lands that could be transferred; a plan for administration or sale of the lands; and costs or revenues that would be incurred by either the state or the local government in association with managing additional lands.
Discussion on each of these elements is ongoing at each meeting. At November's task force meeting in Reno, presentations were given from environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the Nevada Conservation League, regarding concerns about how to pay for the administration of additional state managed lands, as well as concerns about how to ensure environmental protection of any lands that would be transferred.
Larry Johnson, president of the Coalition for Nevada's Wildlife, also provided a presentation - he addressed public access, privatization of public lands and wildlife management.
The final presentation was from the Nevada Farm Bureau - the Farm Bureau supported the concept of transferring more federally managed lands to state or private ownership. The task force will meet again on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas.
The Lander County commission will be hearing a report on the task force and discussing public lands issues in Lander County at the Dec. 12 meeting.
The commission will be taking public comment on this item and encourages any interested parties or members of the public to attend.
For more information on the meeting or to see a copy of the agenda, please call the Lander County clerk or check the Lander County website at landercountynv.org.
For more information on the task force, including meeting agendas, please visit http://nvnaco.org.[[In-content Ad]]
