“Special places bring people together.”
In 2019, Trout Unlimited’s Nevada field coordinator Pam Harrington wrote those words in a blog post highlighting TU’s campaign to protect the Ruby Mountains from speculative oil and gas leasing. In 2025, this sentiment rings truer than ever as a broad coalition of stakeholders and decisionmakers have rallied behind the effort to withdraw the iconic mountain range from drilling.
Rising from the Great Basin to elevations over 10,000 feet, the majesty of the Ruby Mountains is strikingly apparent as it emerges on the horizon. Boasting clean flowing streams, high alpine lakes, lush vegetation and a considerable wintertime snowpack, the Rubies provide ample opportunities for outdoor recreation and critical habitat for treasured fish and wildlife species. Home to the largest mule deer herd in Nevada, as well as the threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout, the Ruby Mountains are an undeniably special place.
For anglers across the west, hiking up Lamoille Canyon to catch plentiful lake trout in Liberty Lake, or venturing even further to catch trophy Lahontan cutthroat in lakes to remain unnamed, is a pilgrimage not to be missed. Once the snow clears in the spring and the snowmobilers and backcountry skiers pack it in for the season, the range offers unparalleled fishing opportunities surrounded by awe-inspiring scenery.
Rubies at Risk
Despite these values, a series of oil and gas lease offerings took place between 2017 and 2019. After public outcry, no leases were issued, but the events highlighted a need for protection of this treasured landscape.
Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto (D) has emerged as a champion for the Rubies, introducing the Ruby Mountains Protection Act in 2019 and again in 2023. This bill would provide permanent protection for the area from oil and gas leasing, leaving this spectacular landscape intact for future generations. Additionally, Congressman Mark Amodei (R) has worked towards the same protections in his Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act. Trout Unlimited applauds the work of the Nevada Congressional delegation in their continued efforts to protect the Rubies.
Already gaining considerable momentum, these bills will still take time to work their way through a divided Congress. As such, TU and partners are urging the Trump administration to follow through with a 20-year oil and gas withdrawal of the area while legislative protections advance through Congress.
Protection for the Rubies has broad support from Nevada’s Congressional delegation, as well as the Te-Moak Tribe, who has been utilizing the area since time immemorial. State and national conservation organizations banded together under the Sportsmen for the Rubies Coalition and have joined to collectively voice their support for a withdrawal.
Rubies’ recreation benefits outweigh low-potential leases
Nevada’s vast and wild landscape contributes greatly to state and local economies. The Nevada Division of Outdoor Recreation reports that in 2023, “Nevada’s outdoor recreation industry accounted for $8.1 billion in value-added (GDP) annually, ranking our state 10th in the nation.”
By contrast, oil and gas extraction only contributed $3.0 million to GDP in the same time frame, with very little potential for growth due to naturally low availability on the landscape.
Nevada will never become a large-scale producer of oil and gas because it simply isn’t economically viable, but outdoor recreation is – and will continue to be – a driver of economic growth. As a world-class destination for hunting and fishing, the Ruby Mountains are at the forefront of that growth.
Currently, there is a 20-year oil and gas withdrawal process underway for the Ruby Mountains. If you believe, as we do, that oil and gas leasing have no place in this iconic landscape, submit a comment to the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.