Nevada Senate OKs resolution urging transfer of federal lands

CARSON CITY — The state Senate approved a resolution Tuesday urging Congress to transfer ownership of millions of acres of federal lands in Nevada to the state.

Senate Joint Resolution 1 passed 11-10, with Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats against.

The bill now moves to the Assembly, where a more aggressive bill that seeks to give control of all public lands to the state was deemed unconstitutional by legislative lawyers.

A hearing on that bill challenging federal control of Nevada public lands earlier this session drew Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy and about 100 supporters to the state capital.

Bundy generated national media attention in spring 2014 when armed militia from around the country descended on his Southern Nevada ranch to prevent the U.S. Bureau of Land Management from confiscating his cattle.

Government wranglers had gathered most of his herd of 500 cows because he had stopped paying federal grazing fees more than 20 years ago. The government said he owed more than $1 million, but the cattle were released after a tense standoff and threat of violence.

State Sen. Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka, said SJR1 is different than the Assembly proposal because it only “urges” Congress to act. The resolution emerged from an interim study on Nevada public lands.

“There are no Forest Service lands in this bill,” Goicoechea said. “There are no demands.”

He said of the roughly 7 million aces sought in the first phase of the measure, more than 4 million are in “checkerboard” areas of public and private lands.

But conservationists and others opposed to SJR1 noted that it ultimately seeks to bring roughly 55 million acres under state control.

Senate Minority Leader Aaron Ford, D-Las Vegas, said he opposed the measure because Nevada can’t afford to assume responsibility for the millions of acres now under federal management. The federal government owns more than 80 percent of Nevada’s lands.

“The mere fact is, we can’t afford this,” Ford said, adding ongoing management costs wouldn’t include the tens of millions of dollars to fight wildland fires or manage wild horse herds.

“This is not the right time for us to be requesting this,” Ford said.

He and others also said that outdoor recreation and use of public lands generates $15 billion for the state economy and supports 147,000 jobs.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb.