By Russell Kuhlman

The past four months have brought a new sense of pain and uncertainty into our lives as we grapple with the impacts of a global pandemic. However, in the face of fear and the unknown, I seek refuge in the familiar beauty of Nevada’s public lands. Like so many wildlife advocates and fellow Nevadans, I have spent countless hours since March walking trails, dropping a line in the water, and getting lost in the beauty of nature, as my mind mulled over the uncertainties of what life amid a pandemic means. When life as we knew it was turned on its head, I was able to find serenity in Nevada’s public lands. 

Unfortunately, as you read this, our state’s public lands are under threat. While communities struggle to stay healthy and make ends meet during COVID-19, the Trump administration is exploiting our nation’s broken oil and gas leasing system to put more money in the pockets of industry executives by taking advantage of a little-known practice known as noncompetitive leasing. This system allows oil and gas companies to lease public lands in Nevada, many that will not generate revenues for taxpayers because they have little to no oil and gas to be developed, for pennies on the dollar. This practice is reckless, shortchanges taxpayers, and wastes limited government resources that should be used to manage public lands for their multiple uses outside of oil and gas development, including hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation. Thankfully, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) has just introduced a bill that will put an end to this wasteful practice and increase Nevadans’ access to public lands. 

In Nevada, the natural wonders of our public lands and the outdoor recreation opportunities they provide are not only essential to our well-being, they drive our local economies. Special places such as Great Basin National Park, Red Rock Canyon, Black Rock Desert, and the Basin and Range National Monument draw in tourists from all over the world. People come to camp, hike, hunt, fish and explore, and in turn our economy and local businesses have come to rely on them. In fact, Nevada’s outdoor recreation industry generates $12.6 billion in revenue annually and creates more than 87,000 direct jobs for Nevadans. 

Despite how important access to our public lands is to our economy and livelihoods here in Nevada, the Trump administration has taken advantage of a decades old system that has stifled public access and poses a long-term threat to our outdoor way of life. Under the Trump administration, 2.3 million acres of public lands in Nevada-- an area slightly larger than Yellowstone National Park--have been made available for noncompetitive leasing. In the last decade, 70 percent of all acres leased in Nevada were offered for noncompetitive rates, many for as low as just $1.50 per acre. To make matters worse, the vast majority of this land has low to no potential for drilling, which means little-to-no return for taxpayers but big risks for mule-deer and sage grouse habitat. This is flat-out wrong. Nevada’s public lands are too precious to our way of life to be managed strictly for oil and gas development and while ignoring everything else they have to offer. 

Earlier this year, U.S Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada introduced a bill that would ban leasing low potential lands for speculative purposes. It is my hope that Sen. Tester’s bill will get our oil and gas leasing system back on track, alongside Sen. Cortez Masto’s. Together, these bills will put an end to the wasteful practice of putting Nevada’s public lands in the hands of oil and gas CEOs to sit idle, with minimal benefit to taxpayers, instead of preserving Nevadan’s access to the outdoors for hunting, hiking, fishing and recreation for generations to come. 

As we all struggle with the uncertainties that lie ahead, it is crucial that we are able to turn to nature, wilderness, and wildlife to ground ourselves. We cannot do that without access to Nevada’s public lands. 

Russell Kuhlman is the executive director of the Nevada Wildlife Federation.