More than a dozen elected officials, tribal leaders and activists held a press conference Thursday in Reno to condemn U.S. Representatives Mark Amodei of Nevada and Celeste Maloy of Utah. Those members of Congress introduced the last-minute measure to sell off 10,000 acres near the tourist town of St. George, Utah, and nearly 450,000 acres outside of Reno and Las Vegas.
The amendment was part of a Natural Resources Committee energy-related budget bill, which Republicans said would generate at least $18 billion in new revenue and savings. Most of the proposed land sales appear to be targeted for building affordable housing on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land.
Russell Kuhlman, executive director of the Nevada Wildlife Federation, said proposals to sell public lands should include public input…