Southern Nevada’s federal delegation are calling on the federal government to prohibit mining on public land in the fragile Amargosa River watershed, an effort pushed by locals in the area for months.

On Tuesday, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto sent a letter to federal land managers, urging the Department of the Interior to implement a 20-year ban on new mining operations on public land surrounding the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, a critical wetland habitat that supports a dozen endangered and threatened species.

Sen. Jacky Rosen and Reps. Dina Titus, Steven Horsford, and Susie Lee also signed the letter.

The 20-year ban is supported by the Timbisha Shoshone Tribal Council, the Nye County Board of Commissioners, the Nye County Water District, and both the town boards of Amargosa Valley and Beatty, according to Nevada Current.

Under federal law, the Department of the Interior has the authority to withdraw lands from mineral extraction for up to 20 years by approving an application for mineral withdrawal submitted by the managing agency. Mineral withdrawals can also be permanently secured through legislation passed by Congress and signed by the president. 

A federal mineral withdrawal would not dissolve previous mining claims, but it would greatly reduce mining companies’ interest in developing the area, say supporters of the 20-year ban.

In the letter, the lawmakers representing Southern Nevada ask Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to formally initiate a 20-year mineral withdrawal on about 276,000 acres of public lands researchers say is most vulnerable to groundwater depletion from mining activities. 

“Drilling for exploration or mining could puncture the highly pressurized underlying aquifer, resulting in artesian flow that could reduce spring flows and water levels at Devils Hole, and would have widespread catastrophic effects on this fragile landscape. Pit mining activities would require dewatering that would draw down groundwater levels, reducing spring flow in the Refuge and affecting the water supply for local communities,” the lawmakers wrote.

The Amargosa River travels just under the surface for most of its 185-mile course. In the stretches of the river that reach the surface — like the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge — the river supports endemic species that depend entirely on springs fed by groundwater aquifers. 

However, some of those aquifers are extremely close to the surface, meaning even shallow drilling in the Amargosa Basin groundwater system can have severe, unpredictable, and far-reaching impacts.

The request comes after Canada-based Rover Critical Minerals’ (formerly Rover Metals) announced a new plan last year to drill as many as 21 boreholes less than a mile from the refuge — at depths of up to 150 feet — in search of valuable lithium deposits. The proposal included plans to drill within a few thousand feet of Fairbanks Spring, a critical habitat for the endangered Ash Meadows Amargosa pupfish and the Ash Meadows speckled dace.

“Recent proposals for exploratory mineral drilling and extraction near the Refuge boundary pose an immediate threat to the integrity of this fragile ecosystem,” reads the letter.

Stephen Cantwell was betting on horses at the Wynn sportsbook on June 21, winning and taking shots of tequila in celebration.

About six shots deep, Cantwell decided to go get sushi at Fashion Show Mall, which is just across the street from the Wynn. The next thing he remembers is waking up in the hospital with burns on nearly 7 percent of his body.

“I definitely passed out and fell on the pavement,” said Cantwell, 59, who said he was found unconscious by bystanders on the sidewalk outside the mall. “I don’t know how long I was there. I woke up here in the hospital, and then I look over and I got all these blisters on me.”

Cantwell was one of at least 23 people hospitalized for pavement burns at University Medical Center’s Lions Burn Care Center in June, according to UMC spokesperson Scott Kerbs.

Last June, only three people were admitted to the burn care center for pavement burns.

June 2024 was the hottest June in Las Vegas history “almost any way you slice it,” according to the National Weather Service. The average daily high temperature in June, for example, was 106.2 degrees. That’s 1.2 degrees hotter than the June average high temperature has ever been.

And July is Las Vegas’ hottest month. As of July 5, the average daily high temperature this month was 110.8. The hottest average high temperature for July in Las Vegas history was 109.4.

“A dangerous and historic heatwave is just getting started across the area,” the Las Vegas forecast office of the National Weather Service said in a forecast discussion posted online Saturday afternoon. Saturday’s high was 115.

But Sunday could be a record-breaker. That’s when the temperature in Las Vegas could hit 118, weather service meteorologist Barry Pierce said. Tuesday and Wednesday could also see highs of 118, Pierce said.

It has never been that hot in Las Vegas before.

“We’re bracing ourselves for a busy summer,” said Syed Saquib, a burn surgeon and the medical director of the burn care center.

Saquib cares for burn injuries of all kinds, including ones caused by flames, chemicals, electrical currents and hot surfaces like pavement. Pavement burns are often much deeper than other kinds of burns, he said.

Sometimes, all of the tissue of a body part, except muscle and bone, must be removed from the wounded area due to a pavement burn, according to Saquib. After suffering a third- or fourth-degree burn, a person will typically need surgeries to remove the unhealthy tissue and cover the injured area by skin grafting, he said.

Cantwell said he suffered second- and third-degree burns on his left arm, backside and leg. He needed multiple surgeries and was discharged from University Medical Center on July 4, he said.

Burn injuries aren’t supposed to be exposed to water, so Cantwell won’t be able to take a shower for quite a while. He also needs to avoid exposing his injuries, as well as recently healed patches of skin, to sunlight, he said. It’ll be about a year until Cantwell can resume swimming, his preferred method of exercise.

The first horse race he bet on got underway at 11:30 a.m., Cantwell said. He thinks he left the casino to grab sushi an hour and a half later. The temperature at Harry Reid International Airport was 102 at 1 p.m. on June 21, according to the National Weather Service.

Saquib said pavement in summertime in a place like Las Vegas can get hotter than 160 degrees. Just “a few minutes” of contact with pavement at that temperature can cause a severe burn, he added.

When he collapsed, Cantwell was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, he said. Pavement can burn skin through clothing, especially thin garments, no problem, according to Saquib.

Saquib said he couldn’t be certain why so many more people were admitted to the burn care center for pavement burns this June, compared with last June. In July and August of 2023, there were 26 and 13 hospitalizations, respectively, Kerbs said.

Those who have suffered severe burns from pavement this year have, by and large, gotten their injuries in the same ways as people in the past, Saquib said.

Many of Saquib’s pavement burn patients are people who’ve passed out on the pavement, he said. People pass out for all sorts of reasons. Maybe they are under the influence or badly dehydrated. A person could have a seizure when no one is around to see him or her fall.

Occasionally, those with advanced diabetes who can’t really feel the soles of their feet will walk barefoot on the pavement and suffer burns because they don’t think it’s so hot, Saquib said. People who fall on the pavement and can’t get up quickly enough may suffer burns. Sometimes kids get pavement burns by walking outside barefoot and not realizing they can hurt themselves that way.

Jim Andersen, chief of code enforcement for Clark County Animal Protection Services, said the county receives complaints every year about people walking their dogs on pavement during times of extreme heat.

If a pet owner can’t hold a hand on the pavement for more than seven seconds, it’s too hot for a dog’s paws, Andersen said. Dog shoes, if their soles are thick enough, can protect a pet from pavement burns, he added.

Saquib said humans can protect themselves from pavement burns by wearing shoes with thick soles as well. Drinking plenty of water and seeking shade when outdoors may prevent one from passing out from dehydration.

Saquib keeps a small cloth in his car to use when gripping the steering wheel, if it’s too hot when he hops in the car, he said. He will also use a cloth to turn the knob on the front door of his apartment.

“Any metallic surface in the desert heat can heat up and can cause burns,” Saquib added.

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen@reviewjournal.com.

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The pilot of a small plane was able to make an emergency landing safely on a highway in northern Nevada after running out of fuel, authorities said Saturday.

No vehicles were hit, and none of the three people on board the aircraft were injured when the aircraft landed Friday afternoon on U.S. Highway 50 about 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of Carson City, the Nevada State Police Highway Patrol said.

The eastbound lanes were temporarily blocked while the plane was loaded onto a truck for transport.

The Lyon County sheriff’s office said the twin-engine plane ran out of fuel before the pilot was forced to make the controlled landing near the Dayton airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed in an email to The Associated Press on Saturday that it will investigate the incident involving the Aero Commander 500.