opinion

Heller must fight to protect Nevada's public lands: Arce

Sen. Dean Heller and his office have been open to meeting with constituents about their concerns for Nevada’s public lands and the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back protections on national monuments. But his actions don’t reflect the views of Nevada’s majority.

In all of the fervor over President Trump’s December announcement that he was initiating the largest rollback of federal lands protections in history – Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah were being shrunk by 2 million acres – many missed the next day’s recommendation declaring that the administration had its sights set on Nevada too. Sec. Ryan Zinke announced that at least eight more monuments, including Nevada’s Gold Butte National Monument, would either be shrunk or opened up for mining, drilling or logging.

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In January 2018, Colorado College released its annual Conservation in the West poll, conducted jointly by Republican and Democratic pollsters, which found that 70 percent of Nevada voters oppose scaling back or eliminating protections for Gold Butte. However, Sen. Heller has been vocal in his support for shrinking Gold Butte, even though it is significantly out of step with those he represents.

As most Nevadans recognize, we all share a moral obligation to protect our outdoor heritage, to protect these special places and to preserve them as a legacy for future generations. The fact that national monuments celebrate and honor our diverse cultural heritage, and honor those that came before us, is why they are so special. They are more than just acres of land; they are chapters in our shared American story.

These national monuments were the byproduct of years of coalition-building and stakeholder input – community roundtables, comment periods, events, visits, joint letters and so on. The work that went into convincing President Obama to declare places like Gold Butte a national monument were based on widespread support for the historical, cultural, recreational and economic benefits of our public lands.

This sentiment is especially true within the state’s Latino community, one of the fastest-growing populations in Nevada that is just beginning to realize its voting power. Latinos are often more supportive of protecting public lands than their white counterparts and rank environment ahead of issues like immigration in regard to importance.

On the other hand, the Trump administration is more interested in putting these lands into the portfolios of private companies, rather than the hands of the public. For Sen. Heller to sit on the sidelines and not stand up for his constituents jeopardizes the cultural and outdoor heritage these national monuments represent.

But even the economic argument for unprotecting these lands – selling them off for mining or drilling – is unfounded. A 2017 report from Headwaters Economics found that local economies surrounding all 17 of the national monuments studied expanded following the creation of new national monuments. Furthermore, the Outdoor Industry Association determined that Nevada’s $12.6 billion outdoor recreation economy is also responsible for three times the number of jobs as the state’s mining industry. Last month, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released its first attempt to analyze the outdoor recreational industry. Overall, it was determined that in 2016 the industry added $374 billion to the economy and accounted for two percent of the U.S. GDP – compared to just 1.4 percent for mining, oil and gas extraction.

We need Sen. Heller to embrace the concerns of his constituents and spark a dialogue that creates an atmosphere where all voices are heard. Rolling back protections only jeopardizes the sanctity of these locations, lightens the wallets of local communities and erases chapters of diverse cultural heritage from America’s story. And that will be a sad legacy to leave for the future.

Maite Arce is president and CEO of Hispanic Access Foundation.