The Biden administration is attempting to block all oil, gas, and geothermal development in Nevada’s Ruby Mountains only days before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office.
On Monday the administration revealed that it’s filed an application to withdraw 264,000 acres of land in the Ruby Mountains from oil, gas, and geothermal leasing for 20 years, as reported by the Associated Press.
The catch is that the approval process can take up to two years, during which time the specified land will temporarily remain off-limits for those seeking to pursue oil, gas, or geothermal development.
So by just filing an application, the administration has arguably already sabotaged Trump for at least two years, if not longer.
Though in fairness, Trump’s own Forest Service rejected the idea of allowing oil/gas/geo development in the region five years ago after a public comment period led to thousands of complaints being filed.
BREAKING: U.S. Forest Service reverses course in face of massive public opposition, threat of overriding legislation: rejects leasing 54,0000 acres in Nevada’s Ruby Mountains to oil & gas drilling. https://t.co/YG8o9TYCK8
— Kierán Suckling (@KieranSuckling) March 14, 2019
“This is a resounding victory for the Rubies and the wildlife that call them home,” Patrick Donnelly of the Center for Biological Diversity said at the time. “It’s a testament to the power of the people to resist the Trump administration’s destructive frack-anywhere agenda.”
Plus, according to Jenna Padilla, the geologist for the Humboldt-Toiyabe Ruby Mountains ranger district, geological surveys “show there is low to no potential for oil” in the Ruby Mountains.
In a statement issued Monday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack attributed the filing of the latest application to a need to honor “Tribal communities,” as well as conservation and sportsmen’s groups.
“The Ruby Mountains are an iconic landscape with exceptional recreation opportunities and valuable fish and wildlife habitat worth preserving for the future,” he said.
“Today’s action honors the voices of Tribal communities and conservation and sportsmen’s groups and marks another important step to protect a treasured landscape,” he added.
“The Ruby Mountains are cherished by local communities for their scenic value, cultural heritage, numerous wildlife, and benefit to the local economy through a thriving outdoor recreation industry,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland added in her own statement.
“Today, we are taking an important and sensible step to pause new mining claims to ensure that we have the science and public input necessary to inform proposed protections of the Ruby Mountains area for future generations,” she continued.
The only valid, long-term solution to the oil/gas problem, according to Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, is through Congress. That’s why they introduced the Ruby Mountains Protection Act last year.
I remember this hike through the Ruby Mountains in 2017 just like it was yesterday – and every time I go back, it gets even more incredible.
I reintroduced the Ruby Mountains Protection Act to safeguard this iconic piece of Nevada’s great outdoors. pic.twitter.com/unvPltGc90
— Senator Cortez Masto (@SenCortezMasto) March 9, 2023
“Thousands of Nevadans and tourists enjoy hiking, biking, fishing, and skiing in the Ruby Mountains each year, and my legislation would ensure that these public lands aren’t disrupted by speculative and unproductive oil and gas development,” Masto said at the time. “I’ll keep working to support our outdoor recreation economy and protect Nevada’s public lands for generations to come.”
That said, she was pleased by the Biden administration’s move this week.
“This is a historic step,” she said. “I’ll keep working to pass my Ruby Mountains Protection Act to ensure these protections are permanent.”
However, even if the application is approved, the land would still be open for mining. This, according to Donnelly, is a problem.
“The Ruby Mountains have no known oil reserves, and this withdrawal does nothing to ward off the truly urgent threat of gold mining,” he told the AP.
“Gold mining in the area has already harmed mule deer migration corridors and greater sage-grouse nesting sites,” he added in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Until the mining industry’s further expansion there is prevented, the protection of the Ruby Mountains has to be considered incomplete.”
The problem is that the Ruby Mountains are evidently full of gold.
“If Nevada were a country, it would be the fifth-largest gold-producing country in the world,” according to the Review-Journal. “That’s about three-fifths of all of the United States’ gold production.”
“The price of gold is so high right now, and money talks, especially in Nevada,” Olivia Tanager, the director of Nevada’s Humboldt-Toiyabe chapter of the Sierra Club, told the paper.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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