Today, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced a bill that would designate 1.3 million acres of wilderness in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. Located just outside the city limits of Las Vegas, the Desert NWR protects 1.6 million acres of the largest contiguous Desert bighorn sheep habitat in the Lower 48. This refuge is also home to the threatened Desert tortoise.

Since the 1940s, the U.S. Air Force has maintained control over an ever-growing portion of the refuge. In December, legislation was finalized to complete another 25-year withdrawal of the land in joint use by the Air Force and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These 850,000 acres, or more than half of the total Desert NWR, are an extension of the Nevada Test and Training Range. The Air Force is always looking for additional lands to add to the NTTR, which already encompasses more than 3 million acres in southern Nevada, and the Desert NWR is in its sights.

It’s time for the majority of these lands to be protected in perpetuity instead of constantly being targeted for military use that would irrevocably damage vital habitats. The bill introduced today would establish a wilderness designation on all but 300,000 acres of the refuge, half of which is already heavily developed and bombed by the Air Force. This new wilderness designation would add a layer of protection to these lands that is sorely needed.

We thank Sen. Cortez Masto for her work to ensure the Desert National Wildlife Refuge is protected in perpetuity and look forward to ensuring this is passed into law.