Nolan Dalla

Stop the Sprawl! Hands Off Red Rock Conservation Area!

 

 

Once we lose the bountiful beauty of nature — it’s gone forever.  It can never be returned to the way it was, nor replaced. 

Here’s a chance to save it.

 

When some people look upon the pristine wilderness, they see the glorious unspoiled beauty of nature.  When others look at picturesque mountain vistas and painted deserts, they see the opportunity to plunder a profit.

History has not been kind to us.  Nevada has been treated as a wasteland for more than a century.  It’s been bombed, mined, neglected, and squeeze dried by pirates, plunderers, prospectors, profiteers, and politicians.  Vast areas of Nevada have been used recklessly as testing grounds.  Our state has been a laboratory for nuclear weapons — citizens reduced to lab mice.

Today, the biggest threat to Clark County Nevada’s fragile environment and wildlife isn’t bombs.  Instead, it’s urban sprawl and out-of-control development.  Years ago, massive housing tracts and ugly strip malls were within the viewing distance of Red Rock Canyon.  Then, over the years as Las Vegas became a boomtown, developments slowly crept in next to the mountains.  Now, houses, gas stations, and fast-food joints are IN the mountains.

Seriously, do we really need another Chevon Station?

This must stop.  Here and now.

Fortunately, there’s a movement in Nevada gaining steam led by progressives (supported by many Democrats) to PROTECT THESE PRECIOUS LANDS.

The Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act attempts to strike a balance between regulating urban sprawl and protecting Southern Nevada’s environment.

It would earmark more than 2 million acres of public land for environmental protection while opening up 30,663 developable acres around Las Vegas.

Read more here:  PROPOSED BILL OUTLINES PROTECTION OF PUBLIC LANDS AROUND LAS VEGAS

We’ve been down this road before, but this time we might have the upper hand.  We’ve fought losing battles against big money and powerful people and corporations.  Environmentalists and nature lovers and advocates for the protection of wildlife have been steamrolled by out-of-state developers who look at our state as a spot on a map and personal piggy bank.  Recall the previous fight about development in Red Rock Canyon.

This time, we’ve got popular support and politicians who understand the land around Las Vegas is our land — not a permanent construction zone.

Nonetheless, even though developers have bought our politicians and disregarded public interest, we agree there’s room for compromise. Instead of an unbridled free-for-all, how about some balance?  Is that too ambitious a goal?

SEE: RED ROCK CONSERVATION AREA

Yes, we need development.  That can be a good thing when it’s done responsibly.  Growth and maintaining a healthy economy requires land for building where people can live and work and enjoy leisure time.  Fortunately, there’s great news: Las Vegas and the outskirts of the city have tens of thousands of acres of land which can be developed with minimal impact on the landscape.  There are dozens of sites listing ads for THOUSANDS OF ACRES of land in Clark Country right now.  However, the rich and powerful want mountain vistas and scenery, and cut-throat developers are more than willing to gut public lands and bulldoze over and pour pavement for more parking lots.

Here’s my two-word answer:  Tough shit.

Live in gated communities in the valley like everyone else.

The best way to respect nature is to leave it alone.

 

Once we lose the bountiful beauty of nature — it’s gone forever.  It can never be returned to the way it was, nor replaced.  No luxury casino or million-dollar mansion is as gorgeous as a majestic mountain or the bloom of wildflowers after a spring shower.

We must stop urban sprawl where it doesn’t belong.  We should all support this proposal.  We must fight to protect our land and save the animals that inhabit the remaining slivers and fringes of livable wilderness in southern Nevada.

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