On the recordApril 22, 2010
today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. It is an annual reminder of what we have the power and responsibility to do in our daily lives. It is a call to recommit ourselves to finding the right balance that preserves our larger environment even as we live in it and use it. Earth Day is also an opportunity for us to appreciate the great outdoors, spaces that are nowhere more beautiful than in Nevada. But today, of course, is not the only day to do this. That is why I am happy to have supported a number of environmental initiatives over the past years to benefit my State and our country: protecting more than 3 million acres of key wildlife habitat as wilderness in the State of Nevada; introducing legislation that created the Great Basin National Park; providing more resources and better management for popular areas such as Red Rock Canyon and Black Rock Desert; enhancing the Carson River corridor and improving management of the Sierra Foothills, and expanding open space opportunities for the people of Carson City. Right now, I am working with the Nevada congressional delegation to protect the Tahoe Basin from invasive species and devastating wildfires and to restore Lake Tahoe's water clarity and protect threatened species and wildlands. The act will also help protect the area's economy and its 23,000 tourism-related jobs.





