Nevada is dominated by public land, with 48 million acres (63 percent of the state) managed by the federal government through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). There are numerous projects taking place and regulations being imposed on federal land at any point in time that affect Humboldt County residents.
At the Humboldt County Board of Commissioners annual retreat, the Commissioners unanimously approved a motion to form a Public Lands Use and Natural Resources Advisory Committee.
The Advisory Committee will help make sure that Humboldt County has proper input and understanding of proposed regulations, policies, and projects and their impacts that take place at the federal level.
“With the departure of Mr. [Jim] French and with all of the work that he did with federal lands and water, I think there’s a benefit to considering putting together a committee that works on federal land, natural resource issues, grazing, and recreation,” said Commissioner Ron Cerri.
“With all these proposed regulations and stuff that we have coming down, whether it’s from the Forest Service, or the BLM… we’re creating this to focus on natural resources and bringing those issues, concerns, or support towards natural resources,” explained Cerri.
Stakeholders in agriculture, sportsmen groups, mining, and outdoor recreationalist would most likely make up the group and their goal will be to “[monitor] federal and state agencies planning and policy activities related to multiple use of public lands and providing input to the Board of County Commissioners regarding impacts of current and potential new policies and actions,” according to County documents.
Humboldt County’s Public Lands Use and Natural Resources Advisory Committee will be one of four similar committees in Nevada, with White Pine County, Eureka County, and Elko County all having their own adaptation.
The Committee will also deal with our most precious resource as well, as the motion approved by the Commissioners included the integration of water issues into the responsibilities of the committee.
Humboldt County’s Public Lands consultant, Andy Rieber, explained that every county in Nevada is federally mandated to have a Master Plan, which identifies future outlooks and how a county would like land to be used or preserved. Provisions in the plan allow for proper interface between federal entities and counties by “stating the county’s needs and expectations with regard to Public Lands Management, with a view to protecting public health, safety and welfare.”
In a previous meeting with former Commission Chairman French, he explained that Commissioner Cerri had asked him to head the Committee and stated that he was willing and excited to continue to serve the County in that capacity.
Cerri explained that having a committee designated for these types of issues would take work off the plate of the County Manager and the Commission, thus giving more due consideration to the concerns regarding public lands and natural resources.
“I think this committee could take a lot of footwork from what is now, more or less, required of the County Manager, and [the Committee] could really get into the weeds on this kind of stuff” said Cerri.