The Washoe County lands bill has something for everyone to love, and something for everyone to loathe. In a recent op-ed in The Nevada Independent, Eli Turner of the Nevada Mineral Exploration Coalition, who falls on the side of loathing the bill, made a number of false statements about the legislation. His article states that, “If you drive across the state on any given highway, you are not confronted with endless open pit mines and cattle at the trough …” This downplays the ubiquitousness of mining and grazing in Nevada.
Nearly every acre of public land north of Clark County in Nevada is in an active grazing allotment. In an analysis based on data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility found most of these allotments fail to meet rangeland health standards set by the Bureau of Land Management.