Hardy seeks more time for BLM comment
WASHINGTON — Rep. Cresent Hardy on Thursday put in a request to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell that Nevadans be given more time to weigh in on a new resource management plan for 3.1 million acres of federal land in Southern Nevada.
The Bureau of Land Management originally set a three-month comment period , then added an extra month. The new deadline for public comment is Monday for the 2,200-page proposal that has proved to be controversial and that prompted fine-toothed-comb reviews by locals who are BLM skeptics.
“The public in my area does not feel they’ve had adequate time,” said Hardy, a Republican from Mesquite who represents the 4th Congressional District that includes rural northern Clark County and counties across central Nevada.
Hardy said his constituents work for a living and “do not have the opportunity to be full-time on these projects yet it affects their everyday lives tremendously.”
The resource plan is the first major overhaul since 1998 of how the BLM manages public land from its Las Vegas and Pahrump field offices. It would open more land to development while seeking to preserve habitat on 278,000 acres by expanding designated Areas of Critical Environmental Concern or creating new ones.
In January, the Nye County Commission passed a resolution calling the plan “repugnant,” saying it would cause “further economic and environmental damage” to the county.
Jewell was noncommittal on Hardy’s request, saying BLM often extends public comment periods and “doesn’t do these things in a vacuum.”
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.
