Heller wants to prevent future Nev. wilderness designations
By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal
Republican Sen. Dean Heller is seeking to leverage one-party control of Congress and the White House with an idea for a bill that would block future wilderness designations in Nevada.
Heller, who is running for re-election and considered the most vulnerable Republican in the Senate, says he plans to introduce legislation “within weeks” that would strip protections from potentially dozens of designated wilderness study areas.
A wilderness advocate who has worked with Nevada’s federal delegation on conservation legislation called Heller’s idea a “radical departure” from prior, bipartisan public lands bills.