Feds’ bird habitat plan isn’t flying in Nevada
By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal
A proposal from the Obama administration to withdraw nearly 10 million acres of western land from future hard rock mining to protect the greater sage grouse landed with a thud in Nevada on Thursday.
That’s because state and federal officials are lining up behind their own vision for protecting both the upland game bird and the lucrative mining industry that drives local economies in the state’s rural counties.
“Today’s announcement does nothing to protect the greater sage grouse,” said Gov. Brian Sandoval. “But (it) does cripple the mining and exploration industry.”
