Nevada senators introduced a new bill that seeks to provide federal funding for conservation easements that would prohibit development on thousands of acres of land in the Carson Valley. If passed, the bill will transfer some federal land to the county, return some cultural sites to the Washoe Tribe, and will encourage local ranchers and property owners to enter into conservation easements. The conservation easements will provide property owners with monetary compensation and tax benefits in exchange for the relinquishment of their development rights to the government.
A previous federal bill provided for the funding of similar easements. J.B. Lekumberry, a Northern Nevada rancher who owns the first land claim in Nevada, is the last in line to receive payment for a conservation easement from the previous bill. He owns thousands of acres of undeveloped pastureland behind his ranch that will be protected by the conservation easement.
Protecting undeveloped land is especially important in Carson Valley as it plays a significant role to preventing flooding. Carson Valley is the first major floodplain for the Carson Basin. About 15,000 acres of land have already been conserved in Douglas County and the majority of that land is floodplain.
Although the process of entering into a Conservation Easement may seem burdensome, many ranchers believe it is worth the work. According to many ranchers, ranching focuses on the future and protecting the future through the establishment of a conservation easement requires that the land remain in ranching for the duration of the conservation easement.
To learn more about this bill, please visit http://www.kunr.org/news/bill-seeks-to-conserve-land-and-way-of-life-in-carson-valley.
