Combined Nevada lands bill might be headed for vote

Seven Nevada public-lands bills will be wrapped together and readied for a vote in a “mark-up” session scheduled this morning in Congress.

Rep. Mark Amodei said the House Natural Resources Committee will become one omnibus bill under the direction of Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., and moved to the floor for a vote.

The measures contain “public-lands and wilderness legislation that Representative Mark Amodei has been tirelessly working to advance,” Hastings said.

“We want Nevadans in communities across the state to have a voice when it comes to their own future and the future of their land,” said Amodei, R-Nev.

One of the most prominent bills on the list is the Lyon County Economic Development and Conservation Act, which will clear the way to a major mining project near Yerington creating hundreds of high-paying jobs.

Also on the list is the Fernley Economic Self-Determination Act, a Housing and Safety Development Act for the Fallon Naval Air Station and the Restoring Storey County Act. It includes the Pine Forest Range Recreation Act, Carlin Economic Self-Determination Act and a bill that would free up land for a motocross project, as well as tribal lands in the Elko area.