Black Rock Desert Law Ends Nevada ‘Drought’

Until this winter, Nevada had the least federally designated wilderness in the West--just 1% of the state.

A proposal to protect the Black Rock Desert, one of the wildest places remaining in the West, was given little or no chance; it faced a hostile Congress and stiff opposition from ranchers, hunters and local elected officials, most of whom shared a deep-seated antagonism to the federal government.

So even supporters were surprised when a bill to protect 1.2 million acres in the Black Rock Desert cleared Congress in its closing hours. President Clinton signed it into law Dec. 21 as part of the omnibus budget package.

“It’s definitely a pinch-me thing,” said Kevin Mack, a coordinator with the Nevada Wilderness Project. “To double the amount of wilderness in Nevada overnight is amazing, and we’re ecstatic. Things like this aren’t supposed to happen in Nevada.”

Nevada is home of the Sagebrush Rebellion, an effort spawned in the late 1970s by ranchers and miners to shift control of public land in the West from the federal government to the states.

The federal government manages 87% of the land in Nevada, but it has been generally open to mining, grazing and off-road recreation. Before now, almost none was set aside for wilderness.

The law will protect 443,000 contiguous acres of the desert as a National Conservation Area and 757,000 acres more in 10 wilderness areas under jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management. Conservation areas offer protection a notch below national monuments and parks.

Its passage marks the end of a 41-year effort to protect a region little changed since the pioneers crossed it on the Applegate-Lassen Trail during the California Gold Rush.

The effort began in 1959 and soon led to a National Park Service report that hailed the remote high desert 120 miles north of Reno as “one of the great sights of Western America,” of sprawling desert playas, multihued mountains and sheer-walled canyons.

Ruts from the covered wagons and drawings made with axle grease survive from the pioneer days, but environmentalists feared that without protection, off-road vehicles and mining could obliterate the trail that emigrants took to seek their fortune.

Mack attributed the bill’s success to broad-based support from some of Nevada’s newer residents. Nevada is one of the nation’s fastest-growing regions, and more than 80% of its population lives in Las Vegas or Reno, he notes.

“We represent the new face of Nevada,” he said. “We didn’t create the demand for these things. We just know there are more and more people moving in here who want to protect the land.”

John Estill, whose Soldier Meadow Guest Ranch will be surrounded by the newly protected land, acknowledges that the state’s changing demographics pose a challenge to ranchers, miners and other traditional users of public land.

But he maintains the measure still would have been shot down in a statewide vote, and only a last-minute budget compromise saved it.

“It was totally out of our control because it was done in the conference room. We’re very disappointed,” Estill said.

Larie Trippet, co-chair of the Public Lands Access Network-High Desert Coalition, said he fears ranchers, hunters, off-road-vehicle enthusiasts and others will lose access to the region.

His group opposed the legislation along with Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn and all but one of Nevada’s 17 counties.

“This legislation makes the primary land management philosophy out there conservation as opposed to multiple use,” said Trippet, an avid dirt biker. “They say all these activities will continue, but only time will tell whether they stick by those words. This just adds another layer of unnecessary bureaucracy.”

The bill specifically prohibits new mining and geothermal activity but allows certain amounts of grazing, hunting and off-road-vehicle traffic, supporters note.

The bill was backed by both of the state’s Democratic senators, Harry Reid and the outgoing Richard H. Bryan, who retired after two terms.

Marge Sill of the Sierra Club said most Nevadans recognize the need to protect the grandeur and history of the region for future generations.

“I very definitely think it got through on the merits of the bill and the desire by all the Senate to honor Senator Bryan,” she said. “Nevada is no longer the black hole of the wilderness movement because of it.”

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Black Rock Desert information: https://www.nv.blm.gov/Winnemucca/recreation