Conserving Nevada’s land and way of life

Great Basin are each a part of our history, our character and our way of life. Whether you love to hike, camp or go hunting, there’s nothing quite like our majestic mountains and desert landscapes.

Outdoor recreation is a big driver of our local economy, and there are limitless opportunities for rock climbing, road and mountain biking, exploring on horseback, and riding off-road bikes and ATVS. The reservoirs of Lake Mead and Black Canyon are home to water sports activities such as swimming, boating and fishing.

What helps make many of these natural wonders open to the public is a little-known but impactful program called the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). For half a century, LWCF has been one of our nation’s most important conservation tools, providing Nevadans with the assurance that our state’s outdoor treasures will be preserved and passed on to the next generation.

Not only is the fund important to protecting Nevada’s public lands, it’s also vital to our thriving outdoor recreation industry, which boosts our state’s economy. According to a recent study by the Outdoor Industry Association, outdoor recreation supports 87,000 direct jobs and generates $1.1 billion in revenue for our state. These are jobs that cannot be exported and are not subject to the same boom-and-bust cycles of some other sectors.

Unfortunately, the fund will expire this year unless Congress acts. We can’t let Washington gridlock block important outdoor conservation projects in our own backyard. Far too often, common-sense programs like this one fall victim to partisan games, even though they have strong bipartisan support. That’s why I’m supporting legislation to permanently reauthorize the LWCF. This program does not even use our tax dollars — it’s funded by royalties from offshore oil and gas drilling paid to the federal government, which are reinvested in protecting and improving public lands. Without the LWCF, hundreds of thousands of dollars for outdoor conservation programs in Nevada would disappear.

We must be vigilant in protecting Nevada’s outdoor heritage and make this a top priority. Previous generations of Americans had the remarkable wisdom to set aside these special places for our recreation and enjoyment. As the caretakers of this remarkable inheritance, we must ensure that we leave these lands how we found them. We can start by permanently reauthorizing and fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund.