Fernley land conveyance included in land bill

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

U.S. Representative Mark Amodei on Wednesday reintroduced a bill that would allow for the conveyance of more than 12,000 acres of federal land to the City of Fernley as part of a larger federal lands conveyance.

Amodei reintroduced the Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, legislation which will allow for the conveyance of federal lands to Douglas County, Pershing County, Carson City, the City of Fernley, the City of Sparks, and the Incline Village General Improvement District (IVIGD) for public purposes and economic development.

Additionally, this bill designates nearly 150,000 acres of wilderness in northern Nevada and removes the possibility of oil and gas leasing in over 300,000 acres of the Ruby Mountains of Elko County. This represents over 450,000 acres of land given conservation protections, compared to the less than 40,000 acres identified for development.

The price of the land would be determined by the Secretary of the Interior by an appraisal. The city would pay all costs for the conveyance, including all surveys, appraisals and other administrative costs. Any gross proceeds from the sale, lease, or conveyance of Federal land under this section shall be deposited into the special account created by the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act of 1998.

“In Nevada, everybody recognizes the importance of striking the right balance between our state’s development and conservation needs. The Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act does just that and I’m grateful to the city and county officials, business leaders, and others with boots on the ground who provided the input necessary to craft this critical legislation,” Amodei said. “I remain committed to seeing it pass the House this year, which will hopefully give the Senate enough time to do its job.”

The full text of the bill can be found here.

A section-by-section breakdown of the bill can be found here.