More public lands in northern Nevada could soon be under local control. But, parcels could also become part of a U.S. Navy bombing range.
U.S. Representative Mark Amodei, a Republican from northern Nevada’s Congressional District, introduced legislation last week that would transfer public lands across the state for military use, local economic development and conservation.
But critics, like Patrick Donnelly with the Center for Biological Diversity, said the move is a public land giveaway for the military. In a statement, he said, “Any modest conservation gains in this bill don’t offset the losses to the public and our wildlife of these spectacular public lands.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, text of the bill was unavailable. The legislation is now in various committees for review.
The Fallon Range Training Complex is currently more than 232,000 acres. The Navy is requesting more than 618,000 additional acres of federally-managed public land.