Editorial: Right balance is struck

Sen. Richard Bryan, who is in his final year as a U.S. senator, has earned a reputation as an advocate for the environment. It is fitting, then, that as the Nevada Democrat prepares to leave office his last major bill would help preserve the environment and wildlife on federal land in Northern Nevada.

Bryan's bill would create a national conservation area to protect about 600,000 acres of land in the Black Rock Desert and the High Rock Canyon area that currently is administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Bryan says that this new designation would preserve the remnants of historic emigrant trails, allowing visitors to see the landscapes in the same condition as they were in the 1840s when pioneers traveled west to California. The area under consideration also is home to a variety of wildlife, including golden eagles and pronghorn antelope.

A recent poll, which was paid for by environmental groups supporting Bryan's bill, showed strong support for the measure in Las Vegas and Reno. That margin, though, dipped in rural counties where voters were split over Bryan's bill. That falloff in support shouldn't be too shocking in light of the problems some ranchers have had with the federal government. But Bryan's bill does permit livestock grazing, which has gone on for more than a century, to continue. Existing mining would be permitted, but new mining claims couldn't be filed. Recreational activities also would be allowed, Bryan says, under a new management plan developed for the conservation area.

Bryan is trying to ensure that the protection of the land coexists with the needs of ranchers, miners and recreationalists. There isn't much time left in this legislative calendar, which is cut short by this year's elections. Congress, though, should set aside the time to pass this worthy legislation.

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