Nevada’s national monuments worth saving

By Michele Burkett, Mesquite

Tuesday, June 27, 2017 | 2 a.m.

In case you haven’t heard, President Donald Trump is seeking to overturn Nevada’s national monuments. And in case you also haven’t heard, we have excellent elected officials in Congress working to defend those monuments.

Reps. Dina Titus, Ruben Kihuen and Jacky Rosen and Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto have been stalwart defenders of the recent designations of Gold Butte and Basin and Range national monuments.

Rosen recently penned a great column in the Sun outlining the history of national monument designations and the importance of the Antiquities Act. In it she states, “These monuments and parks not only preserve Nevada’s natural beauty and cultural importance, but also contribute significantly to the state’s economy.”

She’s right, and it’s great to see the first-term congresswoman her standing up for Nevada, for our public lands and for our economy.

One voice that is conspicuously absent from the rest of these is Sen. Dean Heller. I hope that will change, and I hope he will tell the president and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to stay out of Nevada and away from our national monuments.

I urge all Nevadans who love what is special to us to contact Sen. Heller and urge him to listen to Nevadans and stand up for Nevada.