Basin and Range National Monument is a national monument of the United States spanning approximately 704,000 acres (1,100 sq mi; 2,800 km2) of remote, undeveloped mountains and valleys in Lincoln and Nye counties in southeastern Nevada.[1] It is described as "one of the emptiest spaces in a state famous for its emptiness."[2]
SenatorHarry Reid and RepresentativeDina Titus, both Democrats of Nevada, were major proponents of protecting the Basin and Range area; before the area's designation by executive action, they had sponsored a bill to protect the Basin and Range area (withdrawing it from mining and other uses) by legislation.[3] The campaign to designate Basin and Range as a national monument had the support of Nevada's largest employer, MGM Resorts International, as well as Wynn Resorts, Barrick Gold Corporation, Rockwood Lithium North America, the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.[1] Some members of the local population opposed the designation and complained of limited public involvement.[4]
The creation of the national monument was applauded by Reid, Titus, and Secretary of the InteriorSally Jewell.[1][5] The Sierra Club also praised the designation, stating that the area was "a fitting addition to our protected public lands" because it is "one of the best examples of the spectacular basins framed by Nevada's breathtaking mountain ranges, a resting place for historic artifacts critical to understanding our nation's Native American cultural history, and home to unique plants and animals, some found only in Nevada and this region."[6] Conversely, three Republican U.S. Representatives from Nevada, Mark Amodei, Joe Heck, and Cresent Hardy, condemned the new monument,[5][7] and Republican U.S. Representative Rob Bishop, the chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, called it a "surreptitious land grab" by the Obama administration.[5]
The creation of the national monument was a setback for long-controversial plans to open a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.[8] Previously, a U.S. Department of Energy study had looked at possible railroad routes to carry radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain and had proposed a Caliente-to-Yucca Mountain route, of which 300 miles (480 km) would run through an area later designated at Basin and Range National Monument.[8] Robert Halstead, the executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, said the proclamation of the Basin and Range National Monument was the "final nail in the coffin" of the railroad project and would "really complicate life" for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.[8]
The proclamation allows for continued historic uses of the area (e.g., hunting and fishing) under preexisting regulations. The proclamation also does not affect grazing operations within the monument (including "use of motorized vehicles, construction and maintenance of water infrastructure, and construction of fences and other range improvements").[1] The proclamation also does not affect U.S. military uses of monument; the military will continue to use the monument's land and airspace for emergency response and training.[1]
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