The Bureau of Land Management will conduct a public meeting Thursday, Sept. 8, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Bristlecone Convention Center, 150 6th Street, Ely, to gather additional information from interested parties regarding the proposed Ely Shoshone Reservation expansion.

The Ely Shoshone Tribe applied to the BLM in 1998 for a land withdrawal. The Tribe withdrew that request and in 2003 submitted a new proposal to the BLM. The BLM began the administrative process that continues today. The administrative process requires that the BLM collect public input and work with the Tribe to finalize their application. The BLM will forward the application with all public comment to the Secretary of the Interior. At the Secretary’s discretion, the application may be forwarded to Congress for consideration and possible action.

The BLM in January 2004 conducted open public meetings to gather input from the general public, and also gathered information from local civic leaders, community members and area landowners. The Tribe subsequently made additional changes to their proposal to reflect concerns raised by community members providing substantive input to the process.

The BLM in June 2005 mailed to all interested parties the Tribe’s most recent modified proposal. At the BLM’s request, the proposal has also been placed on the agendas of local governing commissions, councils and boards with all public input collected being forwarded to the BLM for inclusion in the administrative record.

The BLM encourages the public to participate and assist the BLM in capturing concerns and concepts for inclusion in the administrative record that will be forwarded with the Tribe’s application to the Interior Secretary.