LETTER: New monument represents tourist gold to Nevada

Each time I travel up to Mesquite to take a ramble around the Gold Butte National Monument, I am struck by the number of drivers passing by on Interstate 15, many no doubt on their way to enjoy the scenic natural areas of southern Utah and spend their tourist dollars there. Gold Butte has the potential to draw those same tourist dollars to this land.

So I was interested to see that officials with the Outdoor Industry Association are looking for a new state to call home for their trade show. It would be a shame if Nevada politicians did the same as Utah legislators and supported a resolution to transfer public land to state control — the very action that led the association to leave Utah.

Gold Butte National Monument and other public lands in Nevada represent tourist “gold” for our state. It would also be a shame if Nevada lost such economic activities by presenting itself as hostile to the continued public preservation of the scenic areas that all can enjoy.