OPINION: Balanced management of public lands is good for all Nevadans

In Southern Nevada, we are surrounded by beauty and recognize the importance of the outdoor recreation industry to keep local economies vibrant. As a local elected official across the West, I know that many of our communities are located near lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), including traditional homelands of indigenous peoples, vital community watersheds, and prime fish and wildlife habitat. These lands also provide excellent opportunities for outdoor recreation, including camping, hiking, paddling, hunting, and fishing, and are critical to mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Clark County is home to more than 2 million residents who enjoy our public lands. As someone who cares deeply about Nevada’s public lands, I welcome the Bureau of Land Management’s recent announcement of a final Public Lands Rule that will prioritize the recreation and conservation of our public lands and cultural resources. As the nation’s largest land manager, the BLM plays a critical role in managing Nevada’s lands that are vital to sustaining water, wildlife, and the growing demand for outdoor access.

The final regulations emphasize the need for the agency to work with local communities to protect land, water, and wildlife and ensure that communities have future access to federal public lands while combating the increasing impacts of climate change.

Elected officials — local and federal — businesses, outdoor enthusiasts, and the public wanted more administrative protections from the BLM and welcomed the final Public Lands Rule. In fact, 92 percent of public comments submitted during last year’s open comment period supported the draft policy. I am encouraged that the agency listened to our voices and made these necessary changes.

Through our BLM lands, recreation areas, national monuments (including the new Avi Kwa Ame), and even through land use policies, local land managers and governments play a critical role in conservation and climate change mitigation. For example, through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA), we have a unique opportunity to use proceeds from BLM land sales to support local conservation efforts. Like SNPLMA, the new Public Lands Rule gives communities additional tools and direction to safeguard our public lands for the future.

The Bureau of Land Management’s final Public Lands Rule will better balance and uphold the multi-use mission. The Biden administration’s bold, comprehensive framework places climate change mitigation, outdoor recreation, cultural lands protection, and conservation on equal footing with industrial development in Nevada and across the West. I hope our state’s congressional leaders will continue to support public lands by adding their voices to support this rule.

I join small business owners, outdoor recreation leaders, athletes, community members and other local elected officials in the Battleborn State and across the West in celebrating this unique opportunity. Now is the time for local collaboration with the agency to address the increasing drought, wildfires and other threats to public lands and waters.

Tick ​​Segerblom is the Clark County Commissioner representing District E.

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