The 2009 Legislative Session is Here!
The 2009 Legislative Session begins on February 2nd and will be one of the most important sessions in recent memory. The Nevada Conservation League has been working with our partners in the conservation community to put together the Conservation Priorities for a Sustainable Nevada. Below are the four priorities of the conservation community:
CONSERVATION PRIORITES FOR A SUSTAINABLE NEVADA
Public Land Protection
The Need: Irresponsible OHV users are destroying wildlife habitat and interfering with other land uses such as farming, ranching and mining. In addition, due to the lack of titling and registration, Nevada is losing sales tax revenue to other states.
Legislation: Creation of a system of titling and registration for OHVs, with the following
- Titling, registration and an identifiable tag
- An OHV fund and grant program
- A commission to oversee such a program
Benefits: By instituting this policy, Nevada will promote responsible OHV use while greatly increasing accountability for the irresponsible users. In addition, the state would realize sales tax revenue increases, and would create a funding source to promote trail management, enforcement and restoration.
Accurate Carbon Accounting
The Need: With the new administration and Congress in Washington, there is a strong likelihood for greenhouse gas legislation in the near future. This legislation could have a dramatic impact on electricity rates for fossil fuel energy. Currently, NV Energy is not adequately accounting for this in their resource planning process.
Legislation: A bill directing the PUCN to amend its resource planning regulations to require that resource plans:
- include a reasonable estimate of the “most likely” carbon emission price in the utility's base-case scenario (currently around $20/ton of CO2, based upon currently operating carbon markets)
- evaluate alternative scenarios that include a broad range of carbon price projections to account for the risk associated with uncertainty in future carbon regulations
- evaluate a diverse set of low-carbon candidate portfolios
- devote more analytic effort to accounting for the potentially significant indirect effects of future carbon regulations.
Benefits: By instituting this policy, the Legislature will insulate Nevada ratepayers from massive unexpected rate increases due to carbon costs and construction of expensive fossil fuel power plants. The bill will also spur investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency, helping Nevada’s economy and environment.
Responsible Water Management
The Need: Nevada is the driest state in the nation, and as a result, a tremendous demand is placed upon the small water resource that we do have. Scientists recognize that there is a strong interconnection between ground and surface water when evaluating the amount of the resource, but there is not a requirement in our law for the state engineer to recognize this.
Legislation: A bill directing the State Engineer to consider the interconnection between ground and surface water when making water resource decisions.
Benefits: As Nevada continues to grow, this legislation will make sure that we are making the best decisions about our water resources and that we do not inaccurately estimate the amount of the resource and end up in a crisis situation.
Wildfire Prevention and Habitat Protection
The Need: Cheat grass, an invasive species not native to the Great Basin, is taking over the landscape, crowding out native plants, destroying wildlife habitat and serving as a fuel for expensive and devastating wildfires. Nevada has signed an agreement with Utah and Idaho to eradicate cheat grass, but has not yet put resources toward the task.
Legislation: Create a staff position within the Department of Wildlife with the goal of leveraging outside dollars such as
Question 2 and federal monies for efforts to fight cheat grass.
Benefits: As we make progress toward cheat grass removal, we cut down on the costs of wildfire, restore habitat for critical wildlife such as sage grouse, possibly avoiding a listing of threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This will allow Nevada’s economy to become strong again through investment in renewable energy.
Member Organizations – Conservation Priorities for a Sustainable Nevada
Coalition for Nevada’s Wildlife • Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition • Friends of Nevada Wilderness • Great Basin Resource Watch • Great Basin Water Network • Lahontan Audubon • Nevada Conservation League • Nevada Responsible Trails Alliance • Nevada Wilderness Project • Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada • Red Rock Audubon • Scenic Nevada • Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club • Southwest Energy Efficiency Project • Sunrise Sustainable Resources • Vote Solar • Western Resource Advocates
Keep up to Date with our Weekly Email Update
Weekly Email Update: May 26, 2009
Weekly Email Update: May 11, 2009
Weekly Email Update: April 27, 2009
Weekly Email Update: April 17, 2009
Weekly Email Update: April 6, 2009
Weekly Email Update: April 2, 2009
Weekly Email Update: March 23, 2009
Weekly Email Update: March 16, 2009
Weekly Email Update: March 9, 2009
Weekly Email Update: March 4, 2009
Weekly Email Update: February 26, 2009
If you have any questions or problems opening the above link, please email Kalin.
