Whitney Pockets Clean Up 2011

Thanks to everyone who showed up to the Public Lands Conservation Committee cleanup project at Whitney Pockets on Saturday, December 10th. 

We had over 75 people sign in and contribute to the work effort. 

Thanks to State Assemblyman Cresent Hardy for the food for the BBQ. 

Thanks to Partners In Conservation (PIC) for the paper goods and garbage sacks.

We had people from Mesquite, Bunkerville, Moapa, Logandale and Overton showing their support for local public lands and their willingness to be involved and do their part in responsible use and community stewardship. 

We are already planning our next project for the spring out to Gold Butte. Please friend our facebook page to stay informed on our Community stewardship projects.

Simply Garbage

Thank you to the Moapa Valley Progress for publishing my article in the April 20th paper

If we could have half as much rain as we do politics at Gold Butte the drought would be over. However, as life often goes, we are over-stocked with one and in short supply of the other. Much has been made over the politics of Gold Butte both currently and in years past. There are as many philosophies about what is best for this beautiful piece of Nevada desert as there are cacti within its hills. However despite the bureaucratic label it may hold or the potential it has in the eyes of a wanting politician there are still people working to be a part of something positive for public lands despite the politics.

Public Lands Conservation Committee (PLCC) is a group of local citizens from the Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley areas working to DO something positive for Gold Butte.PLCC members have taken their turn paddling into the political waters working to share their point of view. However politics can be a time consuming effort and often with little to show for the time spent. All the while the problems that actually exist at Gold Butte go unresolved. It is within this setting that PLCC’s latest project matured.

One of the first projects that PLCC is working to accomplish is answering the question many visitors have: What to do with my garbage? Instead of waving their arms and crying for help PLCC members quietly went to work raising funds and filling out tedious paperwork to solve the simple problem of garbage.

On Easter weekend a 25 yard dumpster, meeting all of BLM’s requirements, will be placed at the Whitney Pockets parking area. This is to encourage the visitors to this beautiful desert landscape to help do their part and keep our public lands clean and open for multiple-use.

Garbage cleanup is a simple act yet often a point of contention in the debate on public lands management. This is one project in a lineup of projects to come, to help resolve the simple yet beleaguered issues facing the public lands in our backyard. It is one of PLCC’s fundamental beliefs that local public lands stewardship is the key to successful public lands management.

Sunrise View - Defending Gold Butte

This article was run in the Sunrise View a little while back.

Defending Gold Butte
Desire for wilderness status not shared by all who love area

http://www.viewnews.com/2010/VIEW-Dec-14-Tue-2010/East/index.html


I believe that this is the first article that has attempted to show some of the debate on the issues surrounding Gold Butte.

Our Unified Message

Many people have asked me what can they can do to help or be involved to preserve our public lands and access to them. Well the answer is, call your representatives and tell them how you feel about Gold Butte. We need to send a unified message to Washington. The time has come when you need to take action in regards to Gold Butte. Legislation is not currently introduced pertaining to Gold Butte however it is on the minds of our representatives. We need to make sure that they understand how we feel about Gold Butte. We need to ensure that our voice, the people who they represent in Washington, is well understood. It’s easy to sit back and blame special interest or the representatives removed from their constituents over 2,000 miles away. However if we do not take the time to call and specifically make OUR voice heard we have no place to complain. We have to take part.

The November election is looming and many of our representatives are on deck for judgment. If there is ever a time when they are most compelled to listen, it is now. We need to make certain that they clearly understand that the people who vote them in or out have a voice and demand to be represented. If you love Gold Butte, if you love access to your public lands and want a fair and evenhanded process to manage our lands you need to call your representatives TODAY and let them know.

Partners In Conservation and members of the Public Lands Conservation Committee have helped to put this message together:

“I respectfully request that Congresswoman Titus (or Senator Reid, etc.) replies to me (you will need to give your mailing address) and lets me know if SHE WILL SUPPORT A FAIR, OPEN, AND TRANSPARENT PROCESS OF PUBLIC MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS FOR GOLD BUTTE THAT ARE SIMILAR TO THE MEETINGS HELD FOR THE LINCOLN COUNTY PUBLIC LANDS BILL OF 2005 WHEREIN EVERYONE MET AND WORKED THROUGH THE SPECIFIC ISSUES TOGETHER. GOLD BUTTE IS TOO CONTROVERSIAL, TOO IMPORTANT, TOO BIG OF AN AREA TO NOT HAVE A SERIES OF PUBLIC MEETINGS TO DISCUSS SPECIFIC ISSUES. I respectfully expect a reply to this request and if Congresswoman Titus will support a fair, open, and transparent series of public meetings, whom may I contact to get on a notification list?”

We believe that now is not the time to rant and rave about ‘no wilderness’, ‘no NCA’, etc. That message is falling on deaf ears and they hide behind the Clark County Commissioner’s Resolution of Support.

• Phone calls are the best, then letters, then emails
• We must be respectful; being dis-respectful gives them a reason to discard our comments
• We must be united and all say the same message (see above)
• A personal comment w/ the unified message would have significant impact because that demonstrates that we are united in our message, but that our phone calls, comments are personal, coming from individuals and NOT a mass mailing

Congresswoman Titus: Phone: (202) 225-3252

Senator Reid: Phone: 202-224-3542 
(or Toll Free for Nevadans): 1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343)

Senator Ensign: Phone: (202) 224-6244


Request that they let you know where they stand on the issues.

Please do not put this off until tomorrow. We need to let them know how we feel TODAY. Please call our representatives and send the message to Washington that you support a fair, open, and transparent process to managing our public lands.

Citizen Involvement and Better Management

The Moapa Valley Progress article that was run July 21 titled, “Candidate Heck Visits Gold Butte” talked about the PLCC trip out to Gold Butte with candidate Heck. PLCC used this time to share some of the fundamental yet often misunderstood issues facing Gold Butte. This article spurred subsequent letters to the editor that were printed in the following weeks. Whether some of the readers misunderstood or deliberately misconstrued some of the statements in the original article is not my place to judge, however the discussions that were fostered by the article in my opinion were constructive. Any discussion that brings attention and raises community awareness to current events and issues is a good thing.
I particularly enjoyed Elise McAllister’s letter to the editor and found it filled with useful and encouraging information.

“Designating the area as an NCA and wilderness will not deter idiots who do that as it is already illegal. A perfect analogy is robbery. It is already illegal, but still, it is committed every day. Adding another layer and calling it more illegal' is not going to stop those people.


Education, better management, involving citizens will all help. And there is proof of that at prehistoric sites where an active stewardship program is already in place. George Phillips, Cultural Site Stewardship Program Director states that there has been a 26% decrease in site impacts this year. "Most of this decrease is in OHV damages due to a Roads Designation Plan initiated by the BLM in the North and Eastern parts of the County."


Sounds like citizen involvement and better management (the Roads EA) have resulted in a 26% decrease in just one year. WOW, the current system is working!”

The above facts pointed out by Elise are both positive and encouraging when talking about managing public lands for multiple-use at a local level. It should also be pointed out that the decrease in damage is occurring while usage in increasing.

This is how a common sense solution for the good of Gold Butte will come about; Factual information with positive people willing to work to build a sustainable future for our public lands. I am in no way advocating for a status quo approach to Gold Butte. No one wants to see destruction of our cultural sites or ecological damage to the place that we care so deeply for. What we are advocating for is a long term sustainable solution for Gold Butte that is built from the ground up on a framework of factual information for the good of public lands and the ability to enjoy them. Running to Washington with the quick fix attitude is neither a sustainable or responsible solution for the good of our public lands or the community who enjoys them.

Sharing Gold Butte with Candidate Joe Heck

On Saturday July 17, members of the Public Lands Conservation Committee (PLCC) joined up with Nevada congressional candidate Joe Heck for a tour of parts of Gold Butte. We spent our time showing him some of our State’s beautiful backcountry and talking about some of the concerns that face public lands in Nevada.


Some of the specific issues that I voiced with Heck were:
• Creating a long term solution for Gold Butte that fits the specific issues facing Gold Butte.
• Working to preserve the traditions and values of the local communities as stewards of public lands.
• Working towards educating the public on the importance of proper stewardship of the land.
• The importance of preserving all pieces of Gold Butte’s rich history
• The importance of maintaining our desert springs for proper wildlife management
• Our goal of Common Sense Conservation
• Protection with access to our States beautiful backcountry treasure Gold Butte


I appreciate Heck and his staff for taking the time from the campaign trail to visit with the Public Lands Conservation Committee and discuss some of the issues that face Gold Butte and many of our public lands in Nevada. Heck seemed to realize the importance of a real and honest long term solution for Gold Butte and that working with the local communities is essential to accomplishing that solution.


Again thank you Joe Heck for taking the time to meet with the Public Lands Conservation Committee.


Read what Joe Heck had to say about meeting with PLCC and Public Lands