WASHINGTON - Sen. Richard Bryan's legislation to help conserve open space in Douglas County has received final congressional approval and is headed to the White House.
"As Nevada becomes more and more urbanized and as suburban sprawl continues to inundate our formerly wide open spaces, we have got to do what we can today to help preserve our open space for tomorrow," he said.
The legislation moves the boundaries of the Toiyabe National Forest, putting private land in the Carson Valley under the Bureau of Land Management's jurisdiction instead of the U.S. Forest Service. That, said the Nevada Democrat, makes it possible to get conservation easements from private land owners to help preserve part of the remaining open space in Douglas County. Without the change, land owners who wanted to help protect their land from eventual development would have had to negotiate with two different federal agencies to get the BLM conservation easements.
Bryan pointed out that participation by landowners in the program is completely voluntary.
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