Gold Butte protections will help locals

Gold Butte

To the editor:

I strongly disagree with your recent editorial suggesting that public lands protections for Gold Butte will negatively impact locals. And no, I’m not some crazy hippie who believes all trees have feelings. I’m actually a small business owner focused on the outdoors. I believe that if done correctly, the protection of our wilderness can actually have a net positive impact on the local economy in the only way that matters: financially.

To prove it, a recent Headwaters Economics study found that the West enjoys a competitive economic advantage because of these special places — the popular national parks, monuments and wilderness that attract millions of visitors every year. Likewise, a 2012 Outdoor Industry Association report found that Americans spend $646 billion in outdoor recreation each year, supporting over 6.1 million American jobs. Public lands attract businesses, help those businesses grow by attracting visitors to our beautiful outdoor spaces, and contribute to higher incomes.

Gold Butte is a pretty amazing place and Nevada’s own slice of the Grand Canyon. If you haven’t been there, I highly recommend it. It needs protection to help ensure that it stays an amazing place long after you and I are gone. Will the money come rolling in the minute it becomes a National Conservation Area? Probably not — it’s way too far off the beaten path. But NCA designation can truly boost its visibility, and should cities such as Mesquite market themselves correctly, they can benefit by having this in their backyard.

Oh, and by the way, there is a reason that 85 percent of Nevada is owned by the government: No one else would buy the land.

GEOFFREY RHODES

HENDERSON