Small Towns Could Finally Get Room to Grow
The Bureau of Land Management just announced something that might finally give Nevada’s small towns some breathing room. They’re planning to sell about 5,500 acres of public land in Lincoln County, which sits just north of Clark County. The land is near towns like Rachel, Hiko, Alamo, Mt. Wilson, Pioche, Panaca, Caliente and Crestline.
If you’re wondering why this is such a big deal, consider this: the federal government controls about 80 percent of Nevada’s land. That’s right – Uncle Sam owns four out of every five acres in our state. This isn’t how most of America works. In states like Connecticut, only 0.3 percent of the land belongs to the feds.
Why Does Washington Control So Much Nevada Land?
Here’s a history lesson you probably didn’t get in school. When the United States won the Mexican-American War in 1846, all of Nevada’s land went from Mexico to the federal government. Then when Nevada became a state in 1864, our state constitution actually said Nevada wouldn’t claim any public land that wasn’t already spoken for.
Back then, nobody in Washington cared much about Southern Nevada. State leaders were only interested in the northern part of the state because of mining and farming opportunities. “Back then no one had any idea whatsoever that Las Vegas would be anything at all,” explained Mike Ford, a former BLM employee who now works as a land consultant.
The result? Today the BLM manages about 48 million acres in Nevada – that’s 63 percent of our entire state.
Governor Lombardo and Rep. Amodei Fight for Nevada
Our Republican Governor Joe Lombardo has been working hard to fix this problem. He recently signed a data sharing agreement with the BLM to help identify land that could be sold for development. He’s also been meeting with President Trump’s team to speed things up.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner met with Governor Lombardo last Friday to tackle this issue. Lombardo warned that Southern Nevada will run out of land to develop by 2032 if nothing changes.
“We have one of the highest median home prices in the country,” the governor said. “We need to access that land, we need to build and make real estate affordable.”
Congressman Mark Amodei has been leading the charge in Washington. He recently pushed for a bill that would sell more than 93,000 acres of public lands in Nevada, including 65,129 acres in Clark County specifically for affordable housing.
Amodei said bluntly:
“It’s an opportunity to free up some federal land in areas that you normally have to run a regular lands bill, which we have had a phenomenally hard time” getting passed.
Critics Push Back
Not everyone’s happy about selling federal land. Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto called it:
“a land grab to fund Republicans’ billionaire giveaway tax bill.”
Environmental groups worry about losing protected lands forever. Representative Dina Titus complained the plan doesn’t address conservation, water, or infrastructure needs.
But here’s what critics don’t understand: Since 1998, when the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act was supposed to help sell federal land, the BLM has only released 17,519 acres. That’s a tiny fraction of what was promised. At this pace, our kids and grandkids will still be waiting for affordable homes.
Where the Money Goes
The good news about this Lincoln County sale is that most of the money stays local. The law says 85 percent of the sales money will support county recreation, wilderness planning, and protecting archaeological and natural resources. Another 10 percent goes directly to Lincoln County, and 5 percent goes to Nevada for education.
What This Means for Conservatives
This is exactly the kind of limited government action we need. When Washington controls 80 percent of a state’s land, that’s not freedom – that’s federal overreach. Every acre the government holds back is one less place where a Nevada family can build their future.
The Trump administration seems to get it. They’re working with Governor Lombardo to cut through decades of red tape. But they need our support.
What You Can Do
Contact your representatives and tell them to support efforts to release more federal land. Support Governor Lombardo’s push for more land releases. Tell local officials to cut unnecessary regulations that make building even harder.
The battle for Nevada’s land is really a battle for freedom from federal control. It’s about letting Nevadans decide how to use Nevada’s land – not letting Washington bureaucrats make those decisions for us.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
