Our public lands are the foundation of healthy watersheds and strong communities. From remote trout streams to working forests and rangelands, these places provide clean water, vital trout habitat, sporting opportunity and public access for all Americans. But pressures like efforts to sell off and privatize public land threaten what makes them so valuable.
This blog series highlights the people and places at the heart of these landscapes—and the practical, local perspectives keeping them accessible, productive and resilient for generations to come.
Fall trout fishing, as well as duck hunting, is underway on Nevada’s Truckee River. A coveted access point for Reno anglers and hunters is the Mustang Trailhead off Interstate 80, between Reno and Fernley.
As their home water, the Trout Unlimited Sagebrush Chapter is a dedicated steward of the Truckee River. Each spring the chapter organizes a community river clean up and hosts veteran and youth fly fishing and educational events.
As a popular takeout point for anglers and boaters, the chapter also maintains the Mustang boat ramp. Reno residents and visitors are grateful to the Sagebrush Chapter for making the Truckee a better place to fish, hunt and recreate for Nevadans.
“Healthy habitat and access are key ingredients to good fishing and hunting,” said Dan Johnson, Trout Unlimited’s Nevada public lands manager. “The Mustang Trailhead is located on ten acres of BLM land and provides nearly a mile of river access. However, this stretch of the Truckee River is an island of sporting opportunity surrounded by the industrialized, Interstate 80 corridor. Anglers routinely pull large rainbow and brown trout just a short walk from the trailhead.”
Prime habitat under threat
This stretch of the Truckee River is managed by the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Carson City District Office. Under BLM management, one could assume that sporting access at the Mustang Trailhead is a certainty for anglers and hunters. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The trailhead and ten-acre parcel of BLM land is identified for “disposal” in the 2001 Carson City Integrated Resource Management Plan. Once identified for disposal in a land management plan, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act requires BLM to follow a public process to sell off land parcels, including consideration of national interest and requirements for fair-market value.
“If sold, the next fishing access is 3.5 miles downstream on McCarren Ranch managed by The Nature Conservancy. Hunting is not allowed on the ranch, so losing the Mustang Trailhead would mean no public land duck hunting along this part of the Truckee,” said Johnson.
A win, but the fight is not over
Federal legislation is another avenue to sell public lands and waters. This summer, we successfully defeated efforts to sell off millions of acres of BLM and U.S. Forest Service lands across 11 western states. When done through regular order and in the public interest, legislation can be an effective means of selling isolated parcels of public land. This latest proposal, however, was drafted with no opportunity for public input on the idea of selling vast swaths of public lands.
Last August, onX and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership released a new interactive BLM Land Disposal Map. It highlights over six million acres of public land identified for disposal in over 160 BLM land management plans.
Like the Mustang Trailhead, there are parcels of public land across the West identified for disposal in outdated land management plans. The local BLM office did not consider fishing and hunting access at Mustang in its last management plan in 2001.
Do your research and stand up for access
Anglers, hunters and other outdoor recreationists should review the interactive map to make sure their favorite public land access is not in the cross hairs.
It is wishful thinking that stopping the proposal to sell off millions of acres of public lands was the final chapter. On a recent episode of MeatEater with Montana’s Representative Ryan Zinke, he said “the land battle is not over.” We agree with the Congressman and thank him and the bipartisan coalition of public land champions in both the House and Senate for their leadership in preserving America’s fishing and hunting traditions.
If ever sold, the Mustang Trailhead would be gone for good and a tremendous loss for Nevadans. Trout Unlimited will continue to work with local, state and federal decision makers, as well as anglers and hunters, to arrive at a solution that preserves this coveted access.