Local control of school land is a win for everyone – Las Vegas Sun

By Rachel Bergren

Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021 | 2 a.m.

Among our favorite things to do at Get Outdoors Nevada is bringing outdoor education and access to meaningful outdoor experiences to youths in Nevada. We are particularly proud of our Native Habitat Program, where we restore urban wildlife habitats at schools and other community locations. These livable spaces support local and migratory wildlife including threatened or endangered species, like the desert tortoise and the monarch butterfly.

Through the Native Habitat Program, students have the opportunity to create protective corridors for wildlife traveling to larger habitats like a national wildlife refuge, or urban habitats like our neighborhood parks and backyards. Since breaking ground in 2018, the program has created 695,725 square feet of habitat pockets at eight sites throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

This program engages students in learning about the importance of cultivating native plants for wildlife, while also providing hands-on experience in the rehabilitation of an area from start to finish, all at no cost to the school and students involved. However, the process of bringing this program to Clark County schools has not been easy.

With almost one quarter of school grounds managed by the Bureau of Land Management, creating something as simple as a pollinator garden at a school can be a complicated order, often taking months to become a reality. In fact, since the inception of the program, we have started and subsequently abandoned a number of proposed projects due to insurmountable administrative hurdles.

The Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act introduced by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., offers a solution to these obstacles by transferring school sites managed by the Bureau of Land Management to local jurisdictions.

This change will be a win-win for all involved. The Bureau of Land Management will no longer be tasked with reviewing plans for projects like school gardens. School improvements will be more efficient and effective. And ultimately, our kids will benefit because it will be easier to bring enriching, hands-on experiences like the Native Habitat Program to students in Southern Nevada.

Sometimes its hard to see how a certain piece of legislation will affect our day-to-day lives. By eliminating administrative barriers, this bill will help create more native habitats in our community. These restored areas will enhance the quality of life for wildlife and people alike. We are grateful for the opportunity this legislation provides and we look forward to expanding the Native Habitat Program to more schools and students in Clark County.

Rachel Bergren is the executive director of Get Outdoors Nevada.

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Local control of school land is a win for everyone - Las Vegas Sun