Cortez Masto, Douglas County Manager Push for the Passage of the Douglas County Lands Bill in Key Senate Hearing

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jenifer Davidson, Douglas County Manager, pushed for the passage of the Douglas County lands bill in a Senate hearing. The Douglas County Economic Development and Conservation Act would improve land management in the Carson Valley, increase local economic and outdoor recreation opportunities, protect public lands, and preserve important Tribal cultural sites within Douglas County.

Senator Cortez Masto is the Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. County Manager Davidson served as a witness for the committee and discussed the urgent need to pass Cortez Masto's Douglas County Lands Bill.

"The [Douglas County Lands] Bill is the culmination of extensive collaboration between local officials stretching back to 2009, with the earliest bill being introduced in 2013. […] It also represents the 'Nevada style' of legislating our local land management needs - bringing people together, identifying land-use needs, and making compromises. It includes support from local government, the local business community, conservationists, including Friends of Nevada Wilderness, and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California," said Senator Cortez Masto in her opening remarks.

"Members of the Subcommittee, [the Douglas County Lands Bill] solves problems that grow more urgent with every year. Douglas County has done the work. We have built the consensus. Now we need Congress to finish the job," said County Manager Davidson in her opening remarks.

The full text of the Douglas County Lands Bill can be found here, and a map of the proposal can be found here.

Senator Cortez Masto has worked across the board to strengthen and diversify Nevada's economy, protect Nevada's public lands, and plan for responsible growth. She helped pass vital legislation to create thousands of new jobs in Las Vegas at the Apex Industrial Park. Cortez Masto has secured funding for large-scale water recycling projects in Nevada. She has fought against misguided proposals to allow the indiscriminate sale of public lands to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Cortez Masto has consistently pushed for the passage of her Southern Nevada Lands bill.

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