This land is our land

After several months of passionate activism, including a petition that received more than 10,000 signatures nationwide, supporters and advocates of the University of Nevada, Reno’s Main Station Field Lab finally got some good news on Feb. 23. The proposed annexation of 104 acres of the field lab has been postponed indefinitely.

The saga for Wolf Pack Meats and the field lab started back in October (“On the chopping block,” Oct. 20; “Saving graze,” Nov. 13) when UNR proposed to stop subsidizing WPM and announced a plan to rezone 104 acres of the field lab as a public unit development. While some officials consider the issues separate, supporters argued that the loss of the land would make it difficult for WPM to operate at full potential. UNR interim president Marc Johnson insisted that there were no plans to sell the land for business development, but a document written in 2008 by the late Milton Glick and flood project coordinating community member Bob Dickens, who is also UNR’s government affairs director, suggested selling the parcel to help the university pay off debt from the now closed Fire Science Academy.

“Historically, a slaughterhouse cannot exist next to development,” said Ann Louhela, executive director of NevadaGrown.

The annexation was also intended to meet the requirements of the Truckee River Flood Management Authority. However, the regional flood control plan was also postponed indefinitely, which contributed to the university’s decision to re-imagine plans for the field lab.

Initially, the rezoning was approved with a 3-2 vote by the Reno Planning Commission. The decision was immediately appealed, and a series of public meetings were held. A large crowd convened at the community forum on Feb. 21 and more than 30 people spoke in favor of preserving the land, including local business owners, farmers and students. Many cited the importance of agricultural lab space to focus on educating the next generation of farmers and producers. Others highlighted the faulty economics of the proposed development.

“We have identified, as your main stakeholders, that you will need to rethink this,” said Amber Sallaberry, cofounder of the Great Basin Community Food Co-op. She discussed the success of the new GBCFC location and the demand for local agriculture expressed by the community.

“The level of participation and conviction has been significant, but more impressive is the stated desire of so many to constructively contribute to the betterment of the university and, ultimately, our students and our community,” stated Johnson in a statement released by the university. “Several thoughtful ideas have come forward, and we want to pursue them.”

As a result of the public comments, Johnson announced plans for UNR’s agricultural future which would keep the field lab and WPM in operation. UNR has put forward a Request for Proposal to find stakeholders in the community willing to take over WPM. Debt incurred by the Fire Science Academy will be paid off through a portion of a fee already paid by university students. The university will also move forward with hiring a permanent dean for UNR’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources (CABNR) for which Ron Pardini has served as the interim dean since 2008.