Douglas lands bill re-introduced in Congress

A lands bill for Douglas County that has been in the works for 14 years and before Congress for nearly a decade was re-introduced in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

“In Nevada, everybody recognizes the importance of striking the right balance between our state’s development and conservation needs,” said Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev. “The Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act does just that and I’m grateful to the city and county officials, business leaders, and others with boots on the ground who provided the input necessary to craft this critical legislation.”

The bill would transfer 7,777 acres to Douglas County for public purposes, including flood management and 2,669 acres to the Washoe Tribe.

Among the possibilities contained in the bill is land between Ruhenstroth and the Douglas County Fairgrounds that could provide a second outlet to the southern Carson Valley community.

The bill would convey 1,084 acres to the county for open space and 67 acres to the state for parks. The bill would also direct permits for 188 acres of flood protection and water infrastructure.

The bill would designate 12,392 acres of Pine Nut land in the Burbank Canyon area as wilderness and limit the amount of land in the existing BLM region that can be sold to 10,000 acres.

Any sales of BLM land in the county would be set aside for conservation easements.

“I remain committed to seeing it pass the House this year, which will hopefully give the Senate enough time to do its job,” Amodei said.

First proposed in May 2009, the bill was the subject of five public meetings across Douglas County in 2011. The following year, county commissioners approved moving forward.

The bill was first introduced in the Senate in 2013, and in both houses in 2015.

One thing that has since been removed from the bill is the site between Jacks Valley Road and the Carson Valley Plaza, which was sold by the U.S. Forest Service in 2022. Right of way for an extension of Vista Grande was accepted by county commissioners in February.