What this is really about is land costing more for people like Trump to put up casinos and hotels. It's more about the impact on Mr. Trump's wallet than anything else. His comments are specific to the actions of the BLM in Nevada. It's ironic that after his long diatribe he makes no comment about how he would change or rein in the BLM.

Trump: Nevada, US need a president who obeys rule of law
http://www.rgj.com/story/.../78422530/

The United States of America is a land of laws, and Americans value the rule of law above all. Why, then, has our Congress allowed the president and the executive branch to take on near-dictatorial power? How is it that we have a president who will not enforce some laws and who encourages faceless, nameless bureaucrats to manage public lands as if the millions of acres were owned by agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Energy? In Nevada, the lack of enforcement of immigration laws and the draconian rule of the BLM are damaging the economy, lowering the standard of living and inhibiting natural economic growth. The only way to change these circumstances is to bring to Washington a president who will rein in the federal government and get Congress to do its job. It’s not that we don’t have talented people in D.C. It’s that we have no leadership there.

The BLM controls over 85 percent of the land in Nevada. In the rural areas, those who for decades have had access to public lands for ranching, mining, logging and energy development are forced to deal with arbitrary and capricious rules that are influenced by special interests that profit from the D.C. rule-making and who fill the campaign coffers of Washington politicians. Far removed from the beautiful wide open spaces of Nevada, bureaucrats bend to the influence that is closest to them. Honest, hardworking citizens who seek freedom and economic independence must beg for deference from a federal government that is more intent on power and control than it is in serving the citizens of the nation. In and around Clark County, the situation is even worse.

Because the BLM is so reluctant to release land to local disposition in Nevada, the cost of land has skyrocketed and the cost of living has become an impediment to growth. Where are the city and county to get the land for schools, roads, parks and other public use areas if they have to beg Washington for the land and then pay a premium price for it? How are people who see a future in Nevada to find housing and employment if the federal government is inhibiting economic development? How are businesses to find the employees to fill the jobs that could be created if there were better leadership in Washington? Unfortunately, many of the jobs are filled by those who came to this country illegally.

Illegal immigration costs the people of Nevada over $1.2 billion a year. That is nearly $6,000 for every man, woman and child in the state. Those are tax dollars that could go to build those schools, roads, sewers, water treatment plants and all the other services needed for a growing economy. Illegal immigrants absorb tax dollars from public schools, public health and public safety. Illegal immigration suppresses wages and undermines the ability of workers to organize and seek better working conditions. Illegal immigration is an affront to the very rule of law valued by all Americans and most assuredly by all Nevadans.

What is needed in Washington is a president who will rein in the executive branch and work with Congress to make sure the legislative branch does its job. What is needed in Washington is a president who has the will, strength and courage to lead. What is needed in Washington is a president who is not beholden to special interests and who is only interested in putting America and Americans first.

When I am elected president, I will bring the executive branch back inside the Constitution and will work with Congress to put America first. I will lead the effort to gain meaningful tax reform, trade reform and education reform. I will lead the effort to protect your right to worship as you see fit and your right to protect your family and property with the right to keep and bear arms. Together, we will make America great again.

Donald J. Trump, a Republican, is a businessman and a candidate for president of the United States.

[Edited by Dark Beer (3/10/2016 9:27:12 PM)]

I love how the talking heads all have an opinion about the government managemment of the lands in Nevada, but they obviously either do not look into what goes on in Nevada or wish to keep the public blind about what happens there.
I lived in Lincoln County Nevada for a year and a half. It is the 7th largest county in the lower 48 and has just over 5,000 people. Roughly 98% of the county is owned and/or managed by the Federal Government. Lincoln County borders the northern side of Clark County Nevada and Utah on the eastern side of the county. The county is largely Republican AND Mormon.
The County Commissioners have backed the Bundy clan rather openly in the local papers. What the Commissioners do not like to let out of the bag is how much of their funding comes from...the Federal Government! The most recent numbers I have found was printed in their local paper in 2014. Between July and September 2014, the Lincoln County Treasury posted monies received from federal agencies at over $700,000. Not bad for a three month haul from the BLM, USAF, and a couple other agencies. Another item they do notlike to let out of the bag is that the BLM has been directed to dispose of lands in Nevada. The lands are nominated by the County Commissioners. In the year and a half I lived in Nevada approximately 20 parcels were nominated and offered for sale at the going rate. None of those parcels have sold to my knowledge. I will be the first to admit that the price of land is high in Lincoln County given that there is practically nothing there. Here is an example of a privately owned parcel for sale in the northern part of the county: http://www.zillow.com/hom...?3col=true $25,000 an acre is reasonable, right?

Another thing that is never mentioned is the existence of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act. http://www.blm.gov/publis...nplma.html The money for SNPLMA comes from the sales of federal lands in Clark County Nevada which surround the city of Las vegas. So what does SNPLMA provide communities in southern Nevada? In Caliente, Lincoln County, Nevada, SNPLMA monies have built the community a public swimming pool ans baseball field at Super Park, two baseball fields at Dixon Park, a modern gazebo, pavilion, and playground equipment at Rose Park; a 2.5 mile walking trail around town, and the monies are currently being sought for mountain bike connector trails to connect with the purposed BLM developed bike trails. Not too bad for a town of 1000 people. Miles City does not even have a modern public pool! Panaca, Lincoln County used SNPLMA monies for an exercise trail between town and Cathedral Gorge State Park, and a modern playground and ball field. Pioche, the county seat of Lincoln County, has used SNPLMA monies for a modern swimming pool and baseball fields. Now remember, there are more people that live within the city limits of Miles City than live within the three communities mentioned above and all of this stuff was provided to them by monies from selling federal land in Nevada!

Another entity that fails to get mentioned in the Southern Nevada Water Authority. The SNWA gets 10% of the monies from land sales through SNPLMA. Their purpose it to supply water to Las Vegas....and Vegas needs more water every day. SNWA is just sitting back and waiting for all the federal land to get turned over. Why? Because they will buy up every parcel of land with water that they can get their hands on and then send the water off to Vegas....at a 10% discount because remember, they get 10% of the money for lands sold through SNPLMA. They had a water pipleline already running down Rainbow Canyon toward Vegas, but it was washed out in a flood in 2011.

Another quaint little project in Clark and Lincoln Counties of Nevada is Coyote Springs. https://en.wikipedia.org/...gs,_Nevada Coyote Springs claims that it will be a future city of 900,000 people with a Jack Nicholas designed golf course as its centerpiece. Coyote Springs is 54 miles north of Vegas on US 93. The golf course opened in 2008. By the looks of the place on Google Earth, there is not a single house built there yet. If the middle of the desert was such a happening place to be and to invest money in development, why is Coyote Springs not a bustling metropolis already?

People seem to think that by taking the management of our lands out of the hands of the BLM, that there is going to be a plethora of cheap land available. If it is sold at market value, the rancher will not be able to afford to buy what he currently grazes on and he will pay much more when he is leasing his grazing "rights" from a private individual. Do the people who currently have private land for sale want thousands and thousands of acres up for sale? Probably not, then they couldn't command their $25,000 an acre asking price. Do the County Commissioners really want all the land to be turned over or sold off? If you multiply that $700,000 they got over a three month period by 4, you find they are getting 2.8 million dollars for their county coffers from the federal government. Once they slaughter the cash cow, where will they make up that money? The State of Nevada can barely afford to pay for what they already own, so what makes them think they can control all that extra land which the federal government now manages? Who will provide the firefighting services when the BLM and Forest Service are gone? Probably not the State, and probably not the people who demand the land be turned over.

Giving up OUR federal lands is a doubled edged sword with too many unknowns in the equation. Some people THINK they know what is best, and those people seem to be the ones yelling the loudest.

[Edited by rhshilling (3/10/2016 11:56:01 PM)]

Now hold on there sir, are you suggesting that the BLM is mostly in possession of lands with marginal value that would require massive capital outlays in order to become productive?

That, in fact, if it WAS worthwhile for the average Brandy to try and make a living there, his ancestors would have already claimed it when it was being offered for little more than sweat equity?

Huh. Unpossible.