Uncovering Wealth in Central Nevada Wilderness

Between Las Vegas and Reno, Central Nevada has a wealth of wilderness that often goes unnoticed. Its time to protect this "other side" of Nevada. http://www.pewenvironment.org/wilderness.

In the harsh, dry landscape between Las Vegas and Reno, most people have seen only wasteland with a few gold and silver mines. But those who have spent a little time traveling the back roads recognize sustainable value in these lands as destinations for outdoor recreation and protected wilderness.

A good place to start is the Volcanic Hills-Emigrant Peak-Silver Peak area in Esmeralda County. The terrain and vegetation vary dramatically, from rolling benches of desert shrub and low sagebrush at the lower elevations, to steep rocky canyons and cliffs showing fairly dense stands of pinyon-juniper at the higher elevations. The Gaps Springs marsh on the west side of Emigrant Peak has been called, "a green oasis in this beautiful, stark desert landscape."

The Bureau of Land Management is deciding how it will manage this area and the surrounding 10.5 million acres for the next 15 to 20 years. The Pew Charitable Trusts and local partners are working closely with the BLM to identify lands with wilderness characteristics, and to encourage the agency to make sure these lands are protected.

Get to know this special place, and the people working to protect it, in this episode of "This American Land," produced in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts.

http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/other-resources/spotlight-on-this-american-land-85899532561#sthash.qZahJWO8.dpuf.