Passage of Horsford amendment showcases broad local support for desert refuge

The perfecting amendment undid previous language added to a military spending bill

Environment Nevada

Nevada Representative Steven Horsford announced on Monday that the House had passed a perfecting amendment he and other Nevada delegation members, Susie Lee and Dina Titus, had introduced through the House Rules Committee.

The amendment withdrew provisions introduced through an earlier amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act by Representative Rob Bishop of Utah that would have surrendered 840,000 acres of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge to the management of the Nelis Airforce Base. Among many species that call the refuge home are the iconic Nevada bighorn sheep. Following the passage of Rep. Bishop’s amendment, advocates in favor of protecting the refuge called on Nevada House members to reverse the amendment, widely sharing #DontBombtheBighorn on social media. 

Environment Nevada State Director Levi Kamolnick shared the following statement: 

“Representatives Horsford, Lee, and Titus have shown real leadership in this fight for our Desert National Wildlife Refuge. Without consulting a single member of our Nevada delegation, Rep. Bishop altered language in a previously innocuous amendment to do something that our state legislature, our governor, and the vast majority of our congressional delegation has publicly opposed. We are pleased to see the passage of Congressman Horsford’s new amendment and a victory for our state.

That, however, is not to say this fight is over. The NDAA has yet to passed by both chambers and yet to be signed into law. Protecting the refuge has become a perennial practice in our state and public lands advocates throughout our state will need to remain vigilant for the foreseeable future.”  

###