On March 4, senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen re-introduced the Ruby Mountains Protection Act (RMPA). This version is much improved over the 2019 version because it proposes to expand the boundaries of protection to include the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge as well as US Forest Service-managed lands in the Rubies and Humboldt Range.
Thank you to Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), Sportsmen for the Rubies, and Trout Unlimited Nevada for your advocacy to the senators to include this expanded protection.
Here's a map from TRCP with their proposed expanded boundaries. Note, the boundaries on this map include a buffer for BLM lands surrounding the Rubies that the senators have not yet included in their bill (hint, hint...).
Why is this bill necessary? This region is home to Nevada's iconic mountain range, important cultural heritage for Indigenous tribes in the region, habitat and migration corridors for Nevada's largest deer herd, sage grouse and other wildlife, and a wealth of outdoor recreational opportunities.
In addition, years of oil leasing and exploration have resulted in no economic production of oil. And yet, up through the Trump Administration, the federal government persisted in leasing these areas for exploration -- a waste of taxpayer dollars, which only destroyed views, access and habitat through exploration, while lining the pocket of speculative investors.
To address this speculative leasing, Cortez Masto also introduced the End Speculative Oil and Gas Leasing Act, would require BLM to regularly assess oil and gas development potential on public lands, and it would prohibit BLM from offering leases on lands determined to have low or no development potential. This bill aims to:
- Reduce speculative leasing;
- Conserve vulnerable habitats and protect the environment;
- Concentrate development efforts on areas with higher development potential;
- Incentivize more appropriate land-use management;
Let's invest instead in renewable energy and protect our wonderful public lands and natural resources. These two bills are taking us in that better direction.
Call senators Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto today to thank them for introducing the Ruby Mountains Protection Act and to ask them to expand the boundaries of protection to include the BLM buffer. Deer and sage grouse don't stick to the USFS and USFWS boundaries, and this buffer does not need to impede on private property rights in the area.
Cortez Masto:
- Reno: (775) 686-5750
- DC: (202) 224-3542
Jacky Rosen:
- Reno: (775) 337-0110
- DC: (202) 224-6244
Thank you, Scott Sady, for the awesome sunset pick of Ruby Lake NWR!