Nevada Land Swap Bill Creates 100,000 Acres of Wilderness, But Local Taxpayers May Foot the Bill for Federal Cleanup

The Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act of 2025 is a massive piece of legislation that essentially acts as a giant land swap and development package for nearly every corner of Northern Nevada, from Douglas County up to Elko. If you live in this region, this bill changes who owns the land around you and, crucially, who pays to manage it.

This Act has two main goals: first, to transfer thousands of acres of federal land to local governments for economic development, flood control, and public parks. Second, it officially designates over 100,000 acres of new wilderness areas, mostly in Douglas and Pershing Counties, locking them down for conservation.

The Great Land Giveaway: Who Pays?

Local governments like Douglas County, Carson City, Elko, Fernley, and the City of Sparks are getting huge chunks of federal land. For example, Douglas County gets 7,777 acres, and Carson City gets 258 acres, plus land for a street connector. The catch? The federal government is making most recipients pay the full fair market value and cover all administrative costs, including surveys and appraisals (Sec. 114, 402, 703, 802).

If you’re a local taxpayer, this is key: your city or county is paying millions for land that was previously managed by the feds. While some transfers are free—like land for a public cemetery in Sparks (Sec. 902) or flood control land for the Truckee River Flood Management Authority (Sec. 303)—most are straight-up purchases or exchanges.

The Hidden Cost: Hazardous Waste Disclaimer

Here’s where you need to pay attention to the fine print. In nearly every section detailing a land transfer to local government (Sec. 111, 113, 203, 403, 406), the bill explicitly states that while the Secretary must disclose any hazardous substances on the property, the U.S. government is not required to clean up or remove any existing hazardous waste, solid waste, or structures.

Think about this in real-world terms: if your city acquires 7,777 acres of federal land for future development and later finds an old dump site or contamination from historical uses, the cleanup cost—which can run into the millions—falls directly onto the local government and, subsequently, the local taxpayer. The feds are essentially offloading the land and any potential environmental liability along with it.

New Wilderness, New Rules

For those who value conservation, the bill is a win, designating several large wilderness areas, including the 12,392-acre Burbank Canyons Wilderness in Douglas County (Sec. 141) and over 88,000 acres across six new wilderness areas in Pershing County (Sec. 521). This protects these lands from development, mining, and motorized use.

However, the bill is very specific about water rights in these new wilderness areas, particularly in the arid Great Basin. Congress explicitly states that these designations do not create a federal reservation of water rights (Sec. 142, 522). This means the federal government must follow State water law if it ever needs to secure water for these protected areas, a nod to the importance of existing State water rights for farmers and municipalities.

The Special Account Shell Game

To fund all this change, the bill creates special Treasury accounts, such as the Carson City Special Account (Sec. 407) and the Pershing County Special Account (Sec. 513), which collect 85% of the proceeds from the land sales. This money is then available to the Secretary (without needing further Congressional approval) to fund local conservation, fire reduction projects, and cover administrative costs.

But there’s a twist: 10% of the funds generated by these sales (from Titles I, IV, and V) can be used to build a new Federal Complex to house various agencies like the BLM and Forest Service (Sec. 601). While the goal is to consolidate federal offices, it means that local land sales are partially funding federal infrastructure, potentially diverting money that local governments hoped would be spent entirely on local projects like habitat restoration or fire mitigation.