Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush says if he's elected president he'd try to move the Interior Department's headquarters to the West, closer to the needs of the community.
The idea is part of a land and resource management plan the Republican presidential hopeful unveiled Wednesday in Reno at Rancho San Rafael Park.
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Bush says it makes no sense for an agency that manages hundreds of millions of acres of federal land across the West to be based in Washington, D.C.
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He says it would do a better job of keeping in touch with the people it serves if its headquarters was in a place like Reno, Denver or Salt Lake City.
"The folks that actually do the work, that impede the partnership from being created, live in Maryland, Virginia and Washington," Bush said. "I think they ought to be living out amongst us."
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Bush says government leaders in Washington need to learn that the best stewards of public lands in the West are the people who live on them.
Bush also says more needs to be done on aging infrastructure, economic interests and individual progress. He added that the national parks have a maintenance backlog of $11.5 billion that needs to be used to take better care of public lands.
"A better job of fire management, trail upkeep, bridges and roads, all of which have languished because the federal government hasn't spent enough money on maintenance."
Bush's plan includes more cooperation between the federal government and state, local, and tribal leaders. He says a partnership will have a lasting impact on public lands and resources.
"Think of everything from the bottom up," Bush said. "Default to, assuming people have the best interests of their own communities and their own environment because they do. They just do."
More than 85% of Nevada is federally-owned. Bush says economic growth, mining, and agriculture would all benefit from a partnership with the federal government.
"There's lots that can be done to lessen the power of the federal government and then I think you'd have a more responsive government," Bush said.
Bush was also scheduled to speak in Las Vegas later in the day.
Several people protested outside of Bush's roundtable event.
Shaaron Netherton, told us, "We recreate out there, we hunt, we fish, we camp, we hike and we want to ensure these public lands stay public lands for Americans," says Netherton.
"Americans should be encouraged, not discouraged to hunt, fish and hike and camp and enjoy federal lands," Bush said.
(The Associated Press also contributed to this report.)
