The Biden Administration should protect Nevada’s Ruby Mountains

On August 23, Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto sent a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, urging the Biden administration to protect the Ruby Mountains,“Nevada’s Swiss Alps,” and the surrounding Ruby Marshes from oil and gas leasing. 

The area is habitat for mule deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep and Himalayan Snowcock and brook, rainbow, and threatened Lahontan Cutthroat Trout swim in the waters of the lakes and streams. The Ruby Marshes wetlands provide an important stopover for migratory waterfowl. This scenic and biologically diverse region is the ancestral home of the Te-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada. It is also a destination for hunting, fishing and birding.

The Senators are requesting that the administration put a moratorium on mining and drilling in 350,000 acres in the Northern Ruby Mountains. We urge President Biden and Secretary Haaland to act to protect this precious place.