Pershing County Economic Development and Conservation Act

Pershing County Economic Development and Conservation Act

This bill designates specified federal land in Nevada as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System and directs the Department of the Interior to conduct sales or exchanges of eligible lands in Pershing County, Nevada, identified as the Checkerboard Lands Resolution Area.

Interior and the county shall jointly select which parcels of eligible land shall be offered for sale or exchange.

Within one year, Interior shall offer to exchange all of the eligible land for private land.

Interior shall seek to enter into agreements with one or more owners of private land that is adjacent to the eligible land for the exchange of the private land for the eligible land, if the exchange would consolidate federal land ownership and facilitate improved federal land management.

In acquiring private land, Interior must give priority to the acquisition of private land in higher-value natural resource areas in the county.

Interior shall offer to convey, for fair market value, the remaining U.S. right, title, and interest in land within the Checkerboard Land Resolution Area that is encumbered by mining claims, millsites, or tunnel sites to entities with an interest in the land.

The bill prescribes requirements for the disposition of proceeds from the sales of lands.

Interior shall convey to the county, without consideration, Unionville Cemetery.

The bill releases specified wilderness study areas from further review for designation as wilderness.