LETTER: Public lands bill would send Nevada money to Washington

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act would open 25,000 acres up for development. Two million acres would be set aside for preservation and recreation.

Can you just imagine how much money the sale of the land will generate? It’s money that Southern Nevada will never see.

Until this particular bill, billions of dollars in land sale proceeds have gone into a special account for our community. This account was utilized by public land managers to pay for projects to provide recreational activities for those new residents and to purchase sensitive lands.

This bill will deposit that money into the U.S. government’s coffers. We will not see a cent.

You cannot in good conscience bring tens of thousands of new residents in and expect Southern Nevada taxpayers to cough up the money needed to build what is needed for access. Every public land manager in Southern Nevada has received funding to further the access in and appreciation for their areas.

Since 1998, the Southern Nevada Public Lands Act has provided more than $4 billion that has addressed the shortage of private land for development in Southern Nevada by allowing the sale of public land, with proceeds benefiting local education, water infrastructure and conservation initiatives.

For example, if you visit Red Rock and its beautiful majesty, you see money generated by the act everywhere you look, from the visitors center to the trails and the boardwalk and picnic area at Red Springs.

We need to shut this bill down. It is selling Nevada land, and the profits will go to ICE and the Iranian war.