Friend,

Nevada Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen have had a busy couple of weeks introducing bills to preserve our public lands, habitats, and outdoor recreation spaces. Under the previous administration, it seemed like our public lands were a smorgasbord for oil and gas companies to plunder to their liking. But our Senators have plans to bring that era to an end. 

Earlier this week, Senator Jacky Rosen introduced a bipartisan bill called the Fair Returns for Public Lands Act of 2021. This legislation modernizes the shockingly low, 101-year old royalty rate that oil and gas companies pay for drilling on federal public lands. This outdated royalty scheme cost taxpayers and estimated $12.4 billion over the past decade. Think of this bill as a way for these oil and gas companies who drill on public lands to pay their fair share and free up more funds and flexibility for the Interior Department (soon to be headed by its first Native American cabinet secretary, Deb Haaland)!

But Senator Cortez Masto has also been hard at work introducing bill after bill aimed at protecting our public lands. Two such bills dropped last week, the End Speculative Oil & Gas Leasing Act of 2021 and the Ruby Mountains Protection Act. The first bill stops the wasteful oil and gas company practice of speculative leasing on public lands, particularly on low or no potential lands. This opens up these lands for other activities like outdoor recreation and clean energy development, while saving precious time and resources for the Bureau of Land Management, who would no longer be on the hook for processing these requests. The second bill completely bans oil and gas leasing on the 450,000 acres comprising the Ruby Mountain Ranger District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

If you’re as psyched up as we are about the powerful conservation effort from our Senators representing us in Washington D.C., you can channel that energy into action at our state legislature! Coming up on March 22nd through March 26th, you can join us and our partners for Nevada Conservation Week; you’ll have the chance to (virtually) meet with legislators and share your story and passion for solving climate change and protecting our public lands alongside activists and community leaders! Sign up here and keep a look out for further updates via email about this chance to center climate action & conservation at the state legislature this month!

Stay tuned for even more legislative news next week,

Will Pregman
Communications Director