 Could your favorite shooting and off-roading spots near Las Vegas and Pahrump soon be off-limits? Clark County and environmental groups have been pushing to designate large tracts of land in the area as protected areas. While no legislation is pending in Congress, the county and environmentalists are working on a bill to place BLM land under special protections. Over 422,380 acres or 660 square miles are slated to be protected areas. That’s three times larger than the incorporated area of Boulder City; Nevada’s largest city by area. The county proposal would also allow development south along I-15 east to the Jean Lake bed, partway up toward Mt. Charleston, nearly to Lake Mead, and into the undeveloped hills behind Henderson. Most stunning is the scope of the expansion of wilderness areas and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). These ACECs exist across the country and the Mojave Desert. Could your favorite shooting and off-roading spots near Las Vegas and Pahrump soon be off-limits? Clark County and environmental groups have been pushing to designate large tracts of land in the area as protected areas. While no legislation is pending in Congress, the county and environmentalists are working on a bill to place BLM land under special protections. Over 422,380 acres or 660 square miles are slated to be protected areas. That’s three times larger than the incorporated area of Boulder City; Nevada’s largest city by area. The county proposal would also allow development south along I-15 east to the Jean Lake bed, partway up toward Mt. Charleston, nearly to Lake Mead, and into the undeveloped hills behind Henderson. Most stunning is the scope of the expansion of wilderness areas and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). These ACECs exist across the country and the Mojave Desert. The vote followed nearly two hours of public comment, most of which was opposed to the measure. A large contingent of off-road enthusiasts expressed outrage at the prospect of losing what they said was the last remaining tract of recreation land still open for organized OHV use and off-road racing events. [source] The question I have is whether or not these designations are designed to stop the spread of development through protection. In California, county initiatives designating greenbelt or “open space” areas limited generally to agriculture only are being used to stop the rest of the state from turning into a conglomerated megalopolis like Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Is this what this is? The ability to develop in Clark County is often limited by the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, a 1998 bill that delineated what BLM lands could and could not be purchased and transferred from the BLM to private companies within Clark County. The proposed federal legislation, according to the August maps, would expand the “disposal boundaries” — lands available for purchase — by about 38,000 acres. The move would come with wilderness protections and could create more land for businesses. But environmentalists have raised some concerns. They worry more construction could increase sprawl and further strain resources like water. [source] While many questions exist, the grow of Las Vegas isn’t projected to stop. Water will be the determining factor in its growth. I personally think our economy is headed for a catastrophic drop that will stop development in its tracks before the metro area really begins to grow outside of the valley. What should be concerning is the huge scale of these designations. Off-roaders would be forced far out into the desert, along with target shooters who have seen where they can free shoot move further and further away. Whether or not the areas are designated and shooters lose access, the growth of public shooting ranges is vital. The Clark County Shooting Complex is only 30% complete; a fact that should outrage the Nevada shooting community.  Comments are closed.
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