Masto introduces bill to protect Ruby Mountains

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nv., has introduced a bill to prohibit oil and gas leasing in the Ruby Mountains.

“Expansive oil and gas drilling on the Ruby Mountains is not only a threat to one of the Silver State’s natural treasures, it also risks the livelihoods of Nevadans who rely on our state’s outdoor economy,” she said.

The Ruby Mountains Protection Act would withdraw about 450,000 acres of National Forest land in the range that stretches north-south in northeastern Nevada through parts of Elko and While Pine counties.

She said the act would protect all existing uses of land in the area including recreation, grazing and mining. The legislation would apply those same protections to any additional land acquired by the government for inclusion in the Ruby Mountains Ranger District.