Who: Anyone concerned about our access to public lands
What: Information Session with Advocacy group on the selling of public recreational land
When: 7pm, June 4
Where: CC Mellor Library
Bring a Friend!
Please join me this Wednesday, June 4, at 7pm, for a meeting and an update on the proposed public lands sell-off, which had ballooned to a reported 1.5 million acres.
Nicholas Maus, chairman of the
Nevada chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, will join us virtually, and explain what was at stake with this budget reconciliation bill, and what challenges remain (while we averted the unprecedented land disposal scheme, threats to specific areas like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area persist; and with the gutting of the National Environmental Policy Act, these threats extend to all of our federal lands and waters).
We will meet for one hour (the library will close at 8pm sharp), but since there is much to discuss, perhaps we can keep the conversation going at D's Six Pax or another local establishment.
Why BHA? This national organization is composed of our fiercest public land defenders. Were it not for the opposition of these hunters and anglers, this unprecedented land sale may have gone through. If you called or emailed your representative, you were part of this crucial advocacy. We might not live in the West, but these are our public lands, and our Congressional representatives make these decisions. (Furthermore, while the disposal of public lands in Nevada and Utah was the most egregious and immediate threat, the gutting of environmental legislation is a national, and local, crisis too--we might not feel the effects immediately, but that bill will surely come due). Nicholas Maus is a fifth-generation Nevadan who knows exactly what's at stake, and can help us connect the dots from the sagebrush of the southwest to the hardwood forests of Pennsylvania.
(If you know of a local individual or organization who is having these conversations about our public lands and our federal policies (such as the proposed changes to the
Endangered Species Act, or the
National Environmental Policy Act), or whom you think should be involved in these discussions, please let me know. Let's make more connections!).
Looking forward to seeing you all again -- and let me know if you can make it!
-Andy
ABOUT NICHOLAS MAUS:
Nicholas was born and raised in Nevada and grew up exploring its vast open spaces. As a child he learned to fly fish on the Truckee river and camped in the high sierras. As an adult he learned about backpacking, rock climbing, and hunting. He now spends his free time chasing his two GSPs (Trigger and Blaise) all over the west, fly fishing for LCT’s at Pyramid Lake, and pursuing wapiti all over northern Nevada. ... Nicholas got his Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Nevada, Reno. He has been involved in renewable energies, manufacturing, quality consulting, R&D, and Lecturing for both the University and the private sector. ... Nicholas joined BHA to get more involved in the fight against the privatization of public lands and to help in conservation and wildlife management efforts. BHA has helped him become more involved in his local community and continue to enjoy the wilderness and wide-open public spaces.