(The Center Square) – Federal legislation has been proposed to transfer 1,660 acres of public lands for a variety of local uses, including economic development.
U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, this week announced she’s introducing the Carson City Public Land Correction Act, which would transfer the federally owned lands to the city as it faces an affordable housing crisis.
“Not all public land sales are evil,” Shaaron Netherton, executive director of Friends of Nevada Wilderness, told The Center Square.
“When done in a collaborative manner with local constituents, it can be very well done,” the conservationist group official said. “This is one of those. It’s kind of community-driven.”
Rosen’s legislation would give 1,300 acres of Bureau of Land Management-operated lands to Carson City for “flood mitigation, recreation, water improvements, and a rifle range,” according to Rosen’s office. The bill would also provide land to improve pedestrian safety and transportation infrastructure.
“As Nevada continues to grow, we need to make sure that federal lands are being used in a way that best fits the needs of our growing local communities,” Rosen said in a news release. “I’ve been working with Mayor Bagwell and local leaders to make sure this bill provides Carson City with additional land to build more housing and commercial buildings, improve infrastructure, and expand access to outdoor recreation, while also ensuring proceeds of land sales go toward much-needed local programs and conservation initiatives.”
Nevada has an affordable housing need of roughly 70,000 units, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
The state’s need for housing has grown largely due to decades of population growth, coupled with lagging housing construction, said Maurice Page, the executive director of the Nevada Housing Coalition.
While a complicated issue, Page told The Center Square that slow housing development was partially due to a series of economic shocks such as the 2008 financial crash.
Carson City, which is the capital of Nevada, is smaller than any of the state’s counties at around 150 square miles of mostly urban space, with just over half of lands federally owned, according to a report by the Guinn Center. Across Nevada, roughly 80% of land is publicly owned, the highest portion of any state.
The Guinn Center report found that land restrictions posed by public land ownership were directly tied to the lack of affordable housing in the state. In Carson City, an average home cost under $300,000 in 2018 and over $475,000 in 2024 – a 63.1% rise. Over that same time, the median household income only grew 12.6%.
The land transfer will make 360 acres available for economic development. Rosen’s office did not specify what this would be used for, but mentioned the need for affordable housing.
“Sen. Rosen and her staff do really good work on this,” said Netherton. “My trust level on this is high.”
“By correcting land boundaries and enabling strategic conveyances, this bill will strengthen public safety, improve transportation connectivity, support flood mitigation and wildfire resilience, and give our community the tools it needs to plan responsibly for the future,” Carson City Mayor Lori Bagwell said in a statement.
Bagwell and Rosen did not respond to The Center Square’s request for additional comments.
The bill also included space for a rifle range, which Netherton said was to move an existing range located too close to a population center in Carson City.
“They are [moving] an existing one that with community growth is too close to folks,” Netherton told The Center Square. “It looks [like it is] being moved further from homes and populated areas. These ranges are important to give people a safe place to use their firearms and not be shooting on public lands where people are recreating.”
U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, introduced similar legislation in the House for a Carson City land transfer.
Nevada has repeatedly been the target of major public land sales. Conservationist groups in Nevada widely opposed a federal sale proposed this summer that would have seen off up to 3.3 million in Western lands. The deal was partially intended to make up for government debts.
“We object to using public lands as money to pay debt,” said Netherton.
