Letter to the Editor: Thanks to those who stood up against BLM’s oil lease sale near Mesquite, but threat still looms

Stock image | Photo by Maciej Bledowski/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

OPINION — Well-deserved praises go out to Sen. Cortez Masto, Gov. Steve Sisolak, County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick, Mesquite Mayor Al Litman, Henderson Mayor Debra March, Moapa Band of Paiutes and Congressman Steven Horsford, all of whom stood up for Mesquite, Nevada, by speaking out against the Bureau of Land Management’s oil lease sales that threaten our drinking water. With them and the local community speaking up, we were able to convince the BLM to back off in November.

The November sale would have included over 100,000 acres in the East Mormon Mountains and Tule Desert abutting the Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area, just north of Mesquite. These are some of our most popular areas for locals and visitors to enjoy the outdoors.

For me as a realtor, the clients I help buy and sell homes for in Mesquite, and the many others who visit Mesquite, all enjoy and support our outdoor recreation. These unspoiled lands surrounding our community are the reason so many of us live, work and play in Mesquite. Outdoor recreation contributes $12 billion to our economy across the state and brings many, many visitors to Mesquite each year.

Unfortunately, these oil lease sales are not done, and the BLM has scheduled a sale for the Dec. 17, then again on Feb. 11 and March 24. In each of those sales, the waters of Mesquite and southern Nevada, as well as our favorite places to get out, will be targeted by the threat of industrialized oil and gas development.

Submitted by MICHELE BURKETT, Mesquite.

Letters to the Editor are not the product of St. George News, its editors, staff or news contributors. The matters stated and opinions given are the responsibility of the person submitting them. They do not reflect the product or opinion of St. George News and are given only light edit for technical style and formatting.

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