President Joe Biden has announced plans to protect Nevada’s Ruby Mountains by halting oil, gas and geothermal development for the next two decades.
Why It Matters
As his final weeks in the White House wind down, Biden and his top aides are making a home-stretch sprint on climate action, finalizing multibillion-dollar clean-energy loans, supporting state-level action on EVs and setting a new national target for greenhouse gas reductions.
It comes as President-elect Donald Trump, who will return to office next month, is likely to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, as he did in 2017 during his first term in office. But Biden and his climate advisers said work to fight climate change and shift to a clean-energy economy will continue.
What To Know
The Biden administration said the U.S. Department of the Interior submitted an application to withdraw about 264,000 acres of federal lands in the area from energy development leasing. The application initiates a 90-day public comment period on the 20-year prohibition and prevents oil, gas and geothermal development for two years during the review process.
A truck drives into the 600-foot deep mine at Barrick’s Ruby Hill Mine, near Eureka, Nevada, on February 14, 2006. President Joe Biden has announced plans to protect Nevada’s Rube Mountains by halting oil,… A truck drives into the 600-foot deep mine at Barrick’s Ruby Hill Mine, near Eureka, Nevada, on February 14, 2006. President Joe Biden has announced plans to protect Nevada’s Rube Mountains by halting oil, gas and geothermal development for the next two decades. More Douglas C. Pizac/AP
While this move aims to protect the Ruby Mountains, known for their rich biodiversity and cultural significance, the lands will remain open to mining activities.
The Ruby Mountains, often referred to as Nevada’s
