Well said.

We could probably go on all day, trading Leopold quotes. What a smart person - and what a legacy. Thank you, Aldo!

But being an ichthysaur 100 million years ago sounds like it might have been pretty cool. They shared some similarities to our modern whales and dolphins; they were big, built for speed and breathed air. Humans first described the genus in 1699 from fossil fragments discovered in Wales.

A little more than 100 years later, in 1811, a 12-year-old girl named Mary Anning found the first complete ichthysaur fossil near her home in southern England. Wikipedia says that Anning went on to become a well-known 19th century fossil collector and made several important discoveries that became key pieces of evidence supporting the then-new concept of extinction. Way to go Mary.

And hats off to the scientists working in Nevada’s Augusta Mountains — where the ichthysaurs once swam. I hope their discoveries are fruitful.

It was established (the Desert Refuge) as a refuge for bighorn sheep in the 1930’s, but what a lot of people don’t know is there are hundreds of other species. The geography and terrain and the biological diversity are amazing. 1.6 million acres (about the size of Delaware) right in Las Vegas’ backyard. Thanks for this post–I’ve got to do more overnighters there…

When I first saw the natural area on my maps, I could not understand why such a small area would have the designation. It simply didn’t make sense to me. If an area is to be set aside for wildlife habitat, it always needs to be large enough to accomplish the task. Even though Evans Ranch was private property, that space should have been purchased by the BLM and included in the plan. The “County Highway” (dirt road! but on the map) could have remained as an access point.

My last trips to Petersen were a couple of months ago and there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground. Little evidence of recent Mule Deer activity but it did seem to have the possibility of providing good feed and cover during the limited migrations during spring and fall.

I will certainly support all opposition to the Evans Ranch development.

Al

We now live in remote Washoe County. My 5 children were raised backpacking and walking to remote fishing and hunting spots. Their 10 children and two grand children spend all possible time in wild country on foot or horseback. Family time in remote, quiet, motor- free backcountry is as good as it gets. It’s also always where to find the best hunting and fishing. Besides, none of us could ever afford expensive machines.

My experience is broad. I have seen all too often what happens to unprotected wild country. I do not doubt that local residents like John D value the remoteness and wildness of the surrounding public lands. We must remember the land belongs to all of us and we all share management expense.

The hordes on wheels are coming. We must set aside some select and sizeable areas to protect that wildness while there is time. There most certainly is also room for a carefully planned system of motorized routes. Much of Nevada is lucky: the population increases and mobility of the motorized public have been slow coming. However, they have already hit eastern Nevada hard, disrupting locals traditional drive to camping and hunting spots; they will be here soon.

I must add: The MU act was inacted when I was in the 6th year of my carreer. I heard, in person the author of that act, Dr. Richard McCardle, then Chief of the US Forest Service, explain the purpose of the Multiple Use concept. The MU act was intended to place the non-valued resources like scenery and wildlife on an equal legal footing with commodity extraction activities like logging and mining. It was never intended to mandate all uses on all areas. Neither was it intended to place any use or uses on a higher plain than any other.

I think a very good case could be made that Wilderness protects multiple use by not allowing modern machinery to displace wildlife or disrupt traditional uses of the land such as ranching, hunting, trapping, fishing, horseback riding and hiking. In addition, there is no better protection for watersheds than Wilderness.

I am one of the “locals” enviornmental groups look down on, however, we are not crazy one issue red necks who are out of touch with reality! We live in rural Nevada, and every day we enjoy and live in the reality the wilderness fanatics want to eliminate. Wilderness designation of our PUBLIC lands is not the answer, it is the nightmare we do not want to see happen.