Press Releases

(Video 1:47)

Washington, D.C. (May 16th, 2016) – The federal government owns 85 percent of Nevada, and the state faces unnecessary and burdensome federal restrictions on responsible mineral development that will severely impact local economies.  For the latest Congressional Western Caucus video highlighting Nevada’s 2^nd congressional district, represented by Congressman Mark Amodei, please click here or go to: https://youtu.be/I6wq3FlH--k

Transcript of video:

This is Nevada, the Silver State. 85 percent of the state is owned by the U.S. government. 

Nevada’s 2^nd congressional district, served by Congressman Mark Amodei, is larger than the State of New York. Nearly every federal land-owning agency is present, and most of the counties are 80 to 90 percent federal land.

The Bureau of Land Management is the largest landowner in the second district and by law is required to manage for multiple uses ranging from grazing, hunting, and recreation, to energy production and mineral exploration. This balanced approach is intended to keep lands accessible, productive, and sustainable.

This district alone is the fourth largest gold producer in the world, but the Silver State now faces a federal land lockdown. The BLM has moved to ban mining across 2.8 million acres even for minerals critical to our national security and economy. The ban includes one of America’s largest lithium deposits which could be used for batteries and electric vehicles.

BLM claims this is necessary to protect the Greater Sage Grouse, despite the fact that active mining claims take up less than three percent of the proposed area. The mining ban does nothing to stop the wildfires or invasive species that pose far greater threats to the bird. The Congressional Western Caucus continues to work towards common sense, locally driven conservation. We should empower state and local governments to craft more effective conservation plans for the sage grouse.

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