The concept of large-scale restoration of the public lands was already being discussed when the devastating wildland fires of 1999 swept through Nevada, scorching 1.7 million acres of the public lands, statewide.

Armed with the understanding that a well-organized group of partners with a broad base of support could accomplish more than a single entity, a small number of federal and state agencies, and private non-profit organizations began to come together. Their goal - restore for present and future generations the dynamic and diverse landscapes of the Great Basin. To learn more about the Great Basin and the Great Basin Restoration Initiative, click here.

Thus was born the 501c3 non-profit Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition, which was established in March 2001 to help facilitate the enormous but vital task of restoring health to more than 10-million acres of public lands in eastern Nevada through what would be called the Eastern Nevada Landscape Restoration Project, or ENLRP. To learn more about ENLRP, click here.

Agencies and organizations helping to found the ENLC include, but are not limited to, Bighorns Unlimited, Bureau of Land Management, Ducks Unlimited-Nevada, Fraternity of the Desert Bighorn, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, Great Basin National Park, Mule Deer Foundation, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Nevada Cattlemen's Association, Nevada Farm Bureau Federation, Nevada Wool Growers Association, Red Rock Audubon Society, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and The Nature Conservancy-Nevada.

The ENLC today boasts more than 100 non-federal partners, including such diverse interests as Mount Wheeler Power, Native Seed Growers Association of Nevada, Nevada Land Conservancy and Sierra Club-Toiyabe Chapter. The Nevada Department of Agriculture and Tri-County Weed Project are also members. The ENLC is also continuing to build relationships with the region's Native American tribes and considers their involvement vital to future successes.

In addition to its partners, the ENLC brings to bear on ALL proposed projects a rigorous scientific review. The ENLC Science Committee consists of a diverse group of professionals comprised of professors from the University of Nevada, Reno and Las Vegas, University of Utah and Utah State University. Also on the committee are BLM land managers, Cooperative Extension agents, ecologists from The Nature Conservancy and other scientists. The science committee reviews all proposed projects. It makes suggestions for improvement, and may or may not approve a particular project. The purpose of this rigorous review is to ensure that the best available science is used on all restoration projects undertaken by the ENLC and its partners.