I recently introduced new legislation that seeks to protect the Gold Butte area of Clark County, home to unique Native American artworks, native plants and wildlife and beautiful desert scenery. The legislation would create a new National Conservation Area (NCA) to better protect the cultural and natural resources found in and around Gold Butte. The NCA designation would still permit a full range of activities, including hiking, horseback riding and the use of off-road vehicles in designated areas.

Gold Butte is an amazing natural treasure that is also home to unique Native American drawings and there is strong support in southern Nevada for protecting this desert gem before it’s too late. We cannot afford to wait years before moving to preserve the Gold Butte area given the damage that is already being inflicted by vandals who have targeted rock art drawn over thousands of years that can never be replaced and which tells the unique story of our heritage as Nevadans.

Local residents and dedicated volunteers have come together in an effort to have Gold Butte designated as Nevada's newest National Conservation Area (NCA).  Like Sloan Canyon in southern Nevada and the Black Rock Desert in the north, creating an NCA will give us the tools needed to see that Gold Butte remains open to hiking, wildlife viewing, horseback riding, mountain biking, off-roading and other recreational opportunities enjoyed by local families and visitors from around the world.

This agreement allows homes and businesses to continue being built in the Las Vegas Valley and other areas of Cark County which will become off limits to development if we fail to increase the overall amount of land that is protected as a home for our native endangered species.

The NCA that I am proposing would give Clark County the ability to expand development in other areas, in exchange for making Gold Butte the new cornerstone of our already established, and highly effective, habitat conservation plan.

This compromise is a win-win for Nevada, for Clark County and for future generations who will be able to come to Gold Butte and experience the magnificent natural setting and see for themselves the artistry of generations of Native Americans whose story is told on the rocks and the walls of its canyons and open spaces.

You can find the bill information here: HR 7132 (Gold Butte)

If you live outside Nevada Congressional District 1 and would like to comment
about this proposed legislation click below:
Gold Butte Comment Page