By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
Federal land planning is not allowing for enough true multiple use options on public lands, especially for rural community uses, according to a letter approved by the Moapa Valley Town Advisory Board (MVTAB).
The board voted on Wednesday night to approve a formal comment letter to be submitted as part of the ongoing Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Management Plan process.
In the letter, the board expressed concerns that the Resource Management Plan (RMP)was too polarized between large scale development on one hand, and natural preservation and wilderness values on the other. The myriad of lighter uses, most important to rural residents, are being edged out by these two extremes, the letter said.
MVTAB Chairman Gene Houston commented that the BLM’s definition of multiple use had shifted towards major industrial projects like solar power production, wind farms or oil and gas drilling. To make up for those uses, the agency was increasing public lands that were under some kind of restricted designations, he said.
“We have Wilderness areas, Wilderness Study areas, ACECs, land with visual resource values, lands with wilderness characteristics and on and on,” Houston said. “There are millions of acres, and it is always increasing, that are restricted for the uses that we have traditionally had: like farming, ranching, fishing, hunting and recreation. What is dwindling away is our ability to use public lands. That is something that is not being addressed in the RMP document.”
The RMP helps guide specific land-use decisions for 31 million acres of federal land in Clark County and southern tip of Nye County. The plan was last updated 20 years ago.
The update process has been ongoing for several years now. Regional BLM officials originally opened a draft plan for comments back in 2014. It was then closed and a final draft was prepared. But national BLM officials in Washington sent the draft back for revisions.
“They sent them back to the drawing board because there wasn’t enough comments gathered,” Partners in Conservation (PIC) administrator Elise McAllister told the MVTAB. “There also wasn’t enough about sustainable use in there. So now they have opened the process again for public comment. So now is a good chance to go back in and make more comments on the plan. That is what is before you tonight.”
McAllister also encouraged members of the public to submit comments as individuals on issues that may be important to them.
Giving an example, McAllister related that her family had a ranching operation in the Sheep Mountain range where she spent a good deal of time as a child.
“This was a tremendously important place to me and to my family,” McAllister said. “It was a family area where we spent the summer grazing cattle, tending to horses and there was a saw mill up there as well. Now, with all the wilderness designations, you literally can’t get there anymore. It is no longer accessible at all. That part of my heritage is gone.”
McAllister acknowledged that making comments to a complex planning document can be somewhat daunting for average people. But she encouraged that people keep comments simple on the issues that concern them most. And she offered assistance to anyone who needed help in preparing and submitting their comments.
“It is so important that people engage on these things,” McAllister said. “It literally can change the course of things, we have seen that. So PIC is always happy to come to you and help you frame your comments in a way that will be most constructive to the process.
McAllister may be reached by calling PIC at 702-864-2464 or by email at picorg@mvdsl.com.
The public comment period is open until March 23. Comments may be made by email to sndo_rmp_revision@blm.org; or by fax to 702-515-5023. Comments may also be mailed to BLM Southern Nevada district Office; So. Nevada District RMP Process; 4701 N. Torrey Pines Dr.; Las Vegas, NV 89130.
