Public Land Sale?

Posted: June 19, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

I’ve received three emails and came across at least four websites claiming our public lands are being sold off to anyone, for any reason, anywhere. One post even claimed that the forest lands around or under the world-famous Rubicon Trail would be for sale. I don’t believe that.

For the record, I do not want to see federal lands with OHV trails sold off to the highest bidder. At the same time, as our cities grow, there is a need to expand. The sale of federal lands brings income. We can work to balance an agreeable outcome.

One of the emails I received was from the Nevada Offroad Association (www.NevadaOffroad.us). It has been copied and posted below. It paints a different picture. It has a Nevada twist and Nevada details but read it as applying to all federal properties/sales.

In this email, the actual pages of the document are cited for accuracy and for anyone to double check. I think, someone who goes to the trouble of citing page numbers in their argument can be trusted.

Please read the following email with an open mind.

As Yogi Berra once said Its “Déjà vu all over again”, but this time it is fear mongering about the public lands sales and exaggerating that all federally managed Public Lands is up for grabs.

To be clear – we at NVORA dislike the idea of selling public lands, but we also dislike the idea of the federal government “owning” our public lands, nor do we like the idea of every county needing to fund the management of every single acre within their bounds. But the elected leaders tell us they need more land for more housing. And the feds have most of the land.

Keep in mind – We are not here to discuss if Nevada needs more or less housing, that is outside of our skillset, yet every time we drive through some neighborhoods in the larger communities, that have abandoned or undeveloped lots, and the local government has not taken steps to utilize that land- it sure seems a bit rushed to ask for more land for more housing, ‘fix what you got’ then call on the people to sell our Public Lands- Nothing is ever – EVER- black and white.
So last month we (America) had a Public Lands sale included in HR1, that was removed, and now we have another one being inserted by the Senator from Utah. They are more similar than they are different. The primary difference is under the 1st attempt the lands sales in Nevada were limited to those lands identified for disposal in the proposed lands bills by senator Rosen and Masto early this year, and yet they were against selling the very same lands they asked to be sold. (scratches head) for the impacted areas, primarily Washoe and Clark County, (also Pershing county on a much smaller scale)

Disposal, for those of you who don’t read your kids bedtime stories gleaned from the tales within the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, is government speak for land that would be useful to sell for one of several reasons, for this conversation we will see the reason of – a lack of land to build new houses-. Those identified disposal lands are not identified verbatim in this current amendment however there is a very specific criteria on what qualifies, and in summary it is the urban interface, think of it as growing your community outward by a few miles or so.

The amount of land the agencies can identify for disposal is limited to 0.5% to 0.75% yes one half of a percent to three quarters of a percent of the land under public management. For clarity, the BLM manages +-48,000,000 acres in Nevada. using the larger value. Let’s do the math. 48,000,000 x 0.75% =360,000

And by now everyone has seen the map created by the Wilderness Society, they even include a table that breaks it down by state This is where they did the math and computed BLM to be “selling’ 30,053,344 acres in Nevada That is 75% not 0.75% of the public land.

One of two things has happened,
a) They are crappy at math. or
b) They think you are crappy at math.

Either way they were ‘off by a mile’ (or to be accurate 74437.5 square miles) an area larger than Nebraska.

 
But the problem isn’t mathematical ineptitude, it is that the news organizations & social media users jumped on and failed to check the data and are taking these numbers as gospel. Where their claim is even more problematic, is under that 0.75% – 360k acres is available…

BUT not all of it qualifies, as there is specific criteria on how the tracts are selected- in short the land must almost always be adjacent to existing communities. Nobody is buying public land on US-50 between Middlegate and Austin to build an apartment complex, or in the middle of the Amargosa Valley to build tract homes.

So ask yourself – Is the Wilderness Society lying to you just to get your emotions up? If they are, this is professional grade trolling for sure. Or do you think it is a simple mix up?

You can decide for yourself.

Our experiences with some of the more conservative ecologically focused groups certainly puts the thumb on the scale that helped us form our opinion. So you may ask why would any conservation group really get so worked up when the lands being removed from public inventory that borders are at the urban interface. Is this really a concern?

We think it is something to watch, as removing that access does push recreation a bit further into the desert, and along with the illegal dumping or encroaching on areas that are sensitive but not protected. So sure, we should all be interested along with these groups. But that is not what is happening, like we noted last time when the land sales were part of HR1, those were clean sales. The instruction was clear, – BLM FS sell the tracts ASAP. End of process.

What was missing then and what is missing now is the inclusion of more conservation areas or new protected areas. Areas that if you are a mountain biker, an OHV rider or 4X4 owner can simply be made off limits. It is the special interest land grabs that are missing from this bill.

That friends, is why the conservation community is up in arms, they are not getting enough special treatment.

In our opinion, it has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with land sales, we think they are just writing it to pull at your emotional strings to try and get Americans that have more of the conservative ‘founding principles’ mindset on their side.

Professional grade trolling.

So below we have our notes from the bill, and we have included the reference so you can check our work – where you see [34-18] that tells the reader that on page 34 of the bill on line 18, you can see the exact wording as it is presented.

Topic by page numbers Page 1 – 22,
Oil and gas leasing (Not land sale) Page 23-29
Mining (Not land sale) Page 30 – 41
Lands <– Land Sale 42-67 Fiscal instructions for contracting and payments received. (Not land sale) 68-69
Water infrastructure improvements/operations (Not land sale)
Section 0301. MANDATORY DISPOSAL OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND AND NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND FOR HOUSING. [30-2]
FEDERALLY PROTECTED LAND is NOT eligible for disposal this includes: [31-4]
(A) a National Monument;
(B) a National Recreation Area;
(C) a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System;
(D) a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System;
(E) a component of the National Trails System;
(F) a National Conservation Area;
(G) a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System;
(H) a unit of the National Fish Hatchery System;
(I) a unit of the National Park System;
(J) a National Preserve;
(K) a National Seashore or National Lake shore;
(L) a National Historic Site;
(M) a National Memorial;
(N) a National Battlefield, National Battlefield Park, National Battlefield Site, or National Military Park; or (O) a National Historical Park.

All preexisting rights to the land including Mining claims, grazing rights, rights of way or other leases are recognized [32-92] & [38-17]

Disposal is limited to 0.50 to 0.75 % of public lands each administered by the BLM and the USFS. [33-18]

Selection process: [34-5] The Agencies will select the tracts to be identified for disposal, and other interested parties may make nominations for those tracks as well. The state and local governments are also included in this nomination process. Before selecting any tract to be included as eligible for disposal the Federal component must consult with the Governor, the local impacted government (county city town) and the tribal nations if impacted. [35-7]

The nominations from the interested parties must include information for “the planned use of the tract” and “the extent to which the development of the tract of Bureau of Land Management land or National Forest System land would address local housing needs including housing supply and affordability. [35-19]

Priority consideration will be given to tracts that are nominated by the State or local Governments, are adjacent to existing developed areas, have access to existing infrastructure, are suitable for residential housing, reduce checkerboard land patterns or are isolated tracks that are difficult to manage. [36-11]

In addition to any tracts identified by the agencies the right of first refusal to purchase the lands at fair market value will be offered to the state and the local government. [37-4]

Limitations [37-10] Tracts shall be used solely for the development of housing or to address associated community needs.

5% of the land sale proceeds will go to the local government, (5% Seems a bit low) [39-10]

5% of the sales proceeds will go the deferred backlog of maintenance – so those roads that have not seen a blade, or the vault toilet that needs to be replaced, would receive some $ from this [40-15]

25% of the fees collected from renewables will go to the state, to be distributed to the counties [54-21]

And that payment to rural communities is *IN ADDITION* to the PILT funding they already get. Not a windfall but more than what they had yesterday [55-13]

Nevada Offroad Association · PO Box 1111 · Carson City, NV 89702-1111 · USA

So, my take is that although public lands will be sold, it is nowhere near the apocalyptic event being described on the internet. We should even have a say in what gets sold.

Sorry for the non-Tahoe-side-Rubicon rant, but I thought I should pass it along.

.

Rubicon Ronin

Hazard Trees at Tahoma Staging

Posted: June 18, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave a comment

I just got a cryptic voice mail from the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit at 5:55pm on Wednesday the 18th.

They said there are several hazard trees around the Tahoma staging area parking lot that need to be taken down.

Notices are being put on cars currently parked there but if you see flagging blocking part of the parking lot, please respect it.

Tomorrow is a federal holiday so no one will be around dropping trees, but maybe Friday? Hopefully before the weekend.

I’ll post more as I learn more.

.

Rubicon Ronin

LTBMU: the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, or they are not telling the public

Posted: June 17, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

15N38 is open, but it’s a long story…

If you read my previous post, on Saturday I discovered that the FS had failed to open the 15N38 gate by the weekend. Sunday, I was on the Rubicon and made it all the way down to the bridge. See the photo of the month. Monday, I golfed because I do have a life. I did play well, thanks for asking.

This morning, I left early and was at the Lake Tahoe Basin management Unit building at 8:15am.

The lady at the FS front desk, who has been with the FS since the FS was established, told me a story about the FS opening the gate last week, then someone got stuck in a mud hole, did some resource damage trying to get out, through or around that mud hole, that was being fed by a large snow drift on the trail, and the FS had to go in a drag him out. So, the FS closed the gate again and were waiting for the snow to melt and the mud hole to dry up.

(Again, I was told the gate had been closed and was currently closed, waiting for the trail to dry!)

The lady in charge of the gates was not available. I got the Forest Supervisor’s assistant and worked on getting a meeting with him as soon as possible. I left with what I thought was an accurate update about the trail and why it was closed, opened and then reclosed.

I had my new to me used electric mountain bike with me, because I planned on riding up the trail to see where the snow was that I was told about back on the 9th. Now I really wanted to see the snow and the mud hole and the resource damage.

As previously stated, I got to the gate and found it open. Who didn’t tell the lady at the desk? Did the lady at the desk not know, or did she purposely give me bad information? Does anyone at the FS talk to each other?

Going back to her story, the FS does not go out on OHV trails and get people unstuck. Was that whole story bad information or did she lie to me about that?

Let me say that the FS has done quite a bit of tree clearing along the Middle Fork Trail (15N38). It would have taken me forever to get all that work done. It could be cleared back a little more but the trail is easily travelable. I was in my 2012 Colorado. There were many examples along the trail of tree clearing.

I was not able to check the Upper and Lower Hobbit trails, but I was told on Sunday, someone had come through those on a quad. Second hand information, at best

The ONLY snow I found on, or even near the trail, is pictured below. No mud puddle nearby.

There were a few puddles on the trail. And I must point out that those water puddles were at rolling dips that needed their drainages cleared out and then there would be no puddles! Tracks in wet dirt is not a mud hole and not resource damage.

On a lighter note, it is a beautiful trail, if you take the time to look around.

This might have been the first time I put my Colorado in low range. I was a little worried about my sidewalls in one section of the trail but the truck did well.

I will meet with the Forest Supervisor and work out a plan to prevent this from happening in the future.

.

Rubicon Ronin

And the gates are still closed!

Posted: June 14, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Flag Day was spent with the girlfriend in her Corvette. Yes, she has the Corvette and drives fast; I have the Jeeps and drive slow. We had an early, expensive, lunch at Garwoods, with 40 other Corvettes from the Reno Corvette Club, and then drove her Corvette around the lake. Yes, we put on quite a sight when 40 Corvettes run around Lake Tahoe.

Of course, I had to drive up Forest Road 03 to see if the gate on 15N38 had been opened. No, I didn’t drive her Corvette to the gate, that road is a little pitted. It was a nice day for a short hike.

And the gate was closed. I’m not surprised. The FS said they would notify me when the gates were open and I never got a notice.

Surprisingly, the lower gate on Forest Road 03 was open. That road opens tomorrow, and the FS got all over opening that gate so the hikers and cyclists and back country skiers would have timely access. But the OHV gate remained closed. At least with 03 open, wheelers now have a way out to Highway 89.

People are out with their off-highway rigs. I’m not sure if these guys went around the gate or up Forest Road 03.

There was evidence of motorcycles going around the 15N38 gate. I did not see evidence of 4-wheeled rigs going off trail to get around the gate.

As soon as this gets posted, I will be emailing the FS, again.

Phone calls on Monday.

Tuesday morning might find me at the Forest Service office, again.

.

Rubicon Ronin

Traffic, Gates, Camping, Parking, Fires…

Posted: June 9, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

I left my house at 6:45 this morning. My laptop told me I had a one hour and eleven-minute drive to the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) offices in South Lake Tahoe. The plan was to walk in as they opened their doors at 8am.

I walked into the headquarters at 9:45. At one point, the entire road was red with traffic on my phone. Yes, I had to drive through that entire traffic jam.

There was more than a one and a half hour delay due to construction, once into the Tahoe basin.

The LTBMU is in disarray. People have left; retired or moved to other forests. Some positions have been filled but they do not have the experience, at the position or on the LTBMU. Misinformation is being communicated within the LTBMU. The phones have been out for five weeks. But, I finally found someone who could help.

Progress was made as the latest employee responsible for opening seasonal gates guaranteed me the gate on 15N38 would be open by the end of the week. She even said she would drive up the west side of the lake today and open the gate. Cautiously waiting on her email.

My plan is to be out tomorrow morning to make sure the Middle Fork Trail is safe and clear. It sounds like some clearing has been done already by one of the Fire Prevention people.

The camping at Kaspian at the lake on Forest Road 03 and the Blackwood campground are now being managed by Vista Recreation. Part of the agreement includes charging for parking for “day use” at the SnoPark lot during the summer. I’m hoping we can stop and use the restrooms without being charged.

There have been numerous lightning strikes over the last few days but the only fires in the basin was a single tree above the Kings Beach area.

We’re close. We’re very, very close to getting our OHV trails open. Please be patient, stay on the trails. “Turn Around, Don’t Turn Around”.

.

Rubicon Ronin

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