On Monday, June 23, a crowd of about 2,000 people surrounded the Eldorado Hotel & Spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet had come for a meeting of the Western Governors’ Association. “Not for sale!” the crowd boomed. “Not one acre!” There were ranchers and writers in attendance, as well as employees of Los Alamos National Laboratory, all of whom use public land to hike, hunt and fish. Inside the hotel ballroom where the governors had gathered, Michelle Lujan Grisham, the New Mexico governor, apologized for the noise but not the message. “New Mexicans are really loud,” she said.

The Molasky family late last month hosted the grand opening of their 16th senior affordable housing community, a 195-unit complex near Silverado Ranch with high-class amenities not usually provided on-site to people living on low or fixed incomes.

Approximately 10,000 acres of prime land that could be developed are sitting vacant in Southern Nevada, according to a new study.

Gov. Joe Lombardo made righting Nevada’s economy a focus of his gubernatorial campaign. Now, as he begins his quest for re-election in 2026, critics contend he has failed to fulfill two central promises – to make housing more affordable and to lower the unemployment rate.

A years-long effort to sell public lands has gained steam in this year’s federal budget negotiations as a proposed solution to the housing crisis, but critics say it’s just the latest attempt to render an unpopular political proposition more palatable.

Nevada’s public land hosts mines, recreation, wildlife and renewable energy. Now, it’s being asked to pull more weight. Lawmakers at all levels and on both sides of the aisle are advocating for the release of federal land as a solution to the state’s affordable housing shortage.