Clark County, Nevada, Lands Bill -- No!
^White-margined beardtongue (Penstemon albomarginatus): https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+0306+0832
March 3, 2021 - Senator Cortez-Masto will introduce the Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act today. Also known as the Clark County Public Lands Bill, this will give over 42,000 acres of Mojave Desert away to sprawl developers around Jean, Nevada, and the northern Ivanpah Valley where desert tortoises and rare plants such as white-margined beardtoungue live. It will encourage thousands of more people to move to southern Nevada and increase smog. It will create new off-highway vehicle areas in tortoise habitat. It is also said to encourage water pipelines, pumped storage and wind projects.
The bill will encourage almost one million additional people in the area by developing public lands, but they are spinning it as conservation. The wilderness areas would not likely see development pressure. This is a cookie cutter sprawl bill.
Too many environmental groups got behind this. To be clear, it will expand the blob of Las Vegas by over 30,000 acres. More smog, roads and less Mojave Desert habitat for wilderness in areas that never would be developed anyway. The Desert National Wildlife Refuge is already protected. If the military wants to take it again, Congress can override the wilderness designations.
Sprawl legislation:
Gives away too much public land to developers. Creates huge off highway vehicle zones in unwanted areas like Sandy Valley. Pushes a water pipeline under the McCullough Range to support unwanted growth. The wilderness areas are not a good trade. Developers can go right up boundaries.
