Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020 | 2 a.m.
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The rules regarding public lands are changing, and it’s alarming. Through new rules and other initiatives, the Bureau of Land Management is essentially cutting out scientific review and public input for land treatments on millions of acres of “grassland” forests in Nevada and across the West.
Even the names of the so-called treatments are disturbing and express the brutality of what happens on the ground. “Bull hog masticators” and “chainings” are used to chew up and shred acres and acres of pinyon pine forests and sagebrush shrublands.
There is no sound science showing these “treatments” are reliably beneficial for wildlife, fire control or watershed improvement. Rather, available science shows otherwise. Increasing forage for cattle (which is not guaranteed either) is pushed at the expense of all else.
Americans love their public lands and should have the ability to weigh in on what happens to them, but the BLM’s current plans close the door to further public oversight. Unless its plans are turned around, millions of acres of trees and sagebrush will be pulverized without public review or accountability. If you care about Nevada’s public lands, please call or write to your federal representatives and let them know what’s at stake.
