Preserving public land is profitable

By Christian Francisco Gerlach, Las Vegas

Wednesday, May 6, 2015 | 2 a.m.

The recent editorial “This land is our land, but Republicans see it differently” (lasvegassun.com, April 27) accurately depicts the real motivations behind the effort to take back public lands. The Sun deserves recognition for this truthful, no-holds-barred piece.

The fact is there are elected officials who are “on board with dumping federal lands off our ledger sheet” to balance the federal budget in the short term. The problem with this line of thinking is one negates the realization that in the long term there are far more profits to be made from preserving the land rather than pillaging it.

The editorial puts it best in pointing out the states will be more apt to sell the land they get from the federal government both for the short-term economic gain and as a land-management tactic. The states lack the resources to properly manage the land. The states will jump at the chance to help fill in budgetary shortfalls, and with the new asset of land in hand, they will see dollar signs before they see the long-term benefits that come with conservation.

The figures that prove there is true value to shared and protected public lands can be found in many studies. One of the larger studies by the Outdoor Industry Association found that Nevada’s economy enjoys about $14.9 billion in annual economic activity from which the state can draw revenues.

Thank you again!

The writer is an organizing representative for the Sierra Club’s Our Wild America Campaign