24 Sep **PHOTO & VIDEO Included** 700 Pounds of Trash Picked Up for Nevada Public Lands Day Celebration, Congressional & State Leaders Celebrate with Volunteers 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 19, 2022
Contact: Will Pregman, wpregman@battlebornprogress.org, 702.752.0656
Angelyn Tabalba, angelyn@nevadaconservationleague.org, 808.232.9269
LAS VEGAS, NV – This weekend, Nevada’s environmental leaders, activists, and organizations held the 6th Annual Nevada Public Lands Day Celebration with food, fun, and family-friendly games designed to celebrate and educate the community about Nevada’s diverse, sacred, and beautiful outdoor spaces.
The 2022 Public Lands Day Celebration began with a park clean up, followed by games, food, and prizes, and ended with a press conference, featuring Congresswoman Dina Titus, Congresswoman Susie Lee, Assemblywoman Brittney Miller, Commissioner Justin Jones, and Commissioner Michael Naft, alongside local conservation groups to call for greater protections of federal lands. The following day, activists and advocates will lead a hike in the Spirit Mountain Wilderness to call for the designation of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument.
With record-breaking extreme heat waves, massive wildfires ravaging northern Nevada, and a federally declared water shortage for Lake Mead in the South, the conservation community will bring together state leaders to stress the urgency of immediate climate action, and thank Nevada’s elected leaders who supported the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act, which puts the country on the path to reducing carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030 — the largest step our federal government has ever taken to fight the climate crisis.
When the Biden administration announced its America the Beautiful initiative through the Department of the Interior, to conserve 30% of US lands and waters by 2030, Nevada wasted no time putting forward its own resolution supporting the measure. As one of the most biodiverse states in the nation, and facing rapid loss to wildlife and habitats, Nevada is a ripe for policies encouraging cross-collaboration among federal agencies, tribes, state and local governments, farmers, ranchers, hunters, outdoor recreationalists, and other stakeholders to protect and preserve Nevada’s lands, waters, and wildlife.
In addition, Indigenous leaders and environmental advocates are increasingly calling for the designation of Avi Kwa Ame, also known as Spirit Mountain, as a National Monument, for its historical, cultural, and spiritual significance to Indigenous communities, and the biological necessity of protecting the plants and wildlife on the land as well.
“In Nevada, we treasure our public lands and know they must be protected for future generations,” said Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01). “One of my proudest achievements as a member of Congress was successfully leading the efforts to designate Tule Springs, Basin & Range, and Gold Butte as national monuments. I’m now spearheading the charge to permanently protect Spirit Mountain and the surrounding Mojave Desert region that makes up Avi Kwa Ame. This Public Lands Day, I hope you take the time to celebrate the benefits of the outdoors that Nevada has to offer.”
“Nevada’s public lands hold great natural, economic and cultural significance for communities across our state, and we must protect them,” said Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03). “I will continue working with our leaders and advocacy organizations statewide to ensure that we preserve our public lands for future generations.”
Maria-Teresa Liebermann-Parraga, Deputy Director of Institute for a Progressive Nevada, said, “Nevada Public Lands Day was created by legislation in 2017 and signed by then Governor Brian Sandoval. Since then, Governor Sisolak has continued the tradition of proclaiming Nevada Public Lands Day, demonstrating that this celebration and our public lands are nonpartisan. Each year we use this day to recognize the historic, scenic, economic, and other values of Nevada’s public lands, while encouraging Nevadans to participate in voluntary stewardship activities that help conserve the unique public lands found only in our state.”
en español
“El Día de las Tierras Públicas de Nevada fue creado por legislación en 2017 y firmado por el entonces gobernador Brian Sandoval. Desde entonces, el gobernador Sisolak ha continuado con la tradición de proclamar el Día de las Tierras Públicas de Nevada, lo que demuestra que esta celebración y nuestras tierras públicas no son partidistas. Todos los años usamos este día para reconocer los valores históricos, paisajísticos, económicos y de otro tipo de las tierras públicas de Nevada, mientras alentamos a los nevadenses a participar en actividades voluntarias de administración que ayudan a conservar las tierras públicas únicas que solo se encuentran en nuestro estado.”
Andrew Sierra, Nevada Conservation League Political and Organizing Director, said
“On Public Lands Day, Nevadans came together to reconnect with our natural spaces. In our state, we’re fortunate to have some of the most beautiful landscapes across the nation, from the peaks of Gold Butte to the glistening waters of Lake Tahoe to the stunning canyons of Red Rock. These landscapes make Nevada our home, but across the state, we’re continuing to lose these treasured areas to wildfires, drought, and harmful development. Today, we renew our commitment to maintaining, enhancing, and better protecting our public lands and are grateful to our leaders at the local, state, and federal levels who are leading the way in these efforts so we can ensure our natural legacy can be passed down to future generations.”
Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones, said:
“I have been blessed to have the public lands day celebration in my district the last four years. We at the county are fully committed to our public lands in addition to our parks. We have taken the efforts over the last two years to support a resolution that was proposed by my colleague Micheal Naft in support of Avi Kwa Ame and also preservation of 30% of our public lands by 2030. We’re ready to do more.”
Taylor Patterson, Executive Director of Native Voters Alliance-Nevada.
“We’re thrilled to once again be a part of the Public Lands Day celebration, honoring the vast public lands throughout Nevada. We must never forget that Indigenous people are the traditional stewards of this land and it is thanks to them that conservation is what it is today. Public Lands Day is the perfect time to highlight this history, especially in light of the campaign to designate Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument. Enhanced federal protection for Avi Kwa Ame would devote additional federal resources to safeguarding cultural sites, maintaining plant and wildlife habitats and migration corridors, and balancing responsible outdoor recreation activities with land conservation. We thank Congresswoman Dina Titus for introducing legislation in the House, as well as Congresswoman Susie Lee for her advocacy on this critical issue. We also recognize the work of our Clark County Commissioners Justin Jones and Michael Naft for supporting the designation at the County level as well.”
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