Cortez Masto Announces $4.5 Million for Nevada’s Rural Communities

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) will be issuing $4,501,785 in Secure Rural Schools payments to the State of Nevada. Senator Cortez Masto has been a strong supporter of the Secure Rural Schools Program, which provides critical funding for schools, roads, and other municipal services to rural counties.

"All Nevada families deserve safe, secure roads and high-quality education for their children," said Senator Cortez Masto. "This critical funding will help our rural counties, from Humbolt to Nye, thrive. I'll continue to fight for the resources that our communities need, no matter their size."

Land held by the USFS cannot be taxed, limiting the revenue that counties with high percentages of USFS land can generate. The Secure Rural Schools program was established in 2000 to provide additional funding to counties with a high volume of USFS land in order to put them on equal footing with more urban counties with a lower percentage of USFS land.

The funding that the Silver State received is broken down among 14 Nevada counties as follows:

• Nye County: $2,002,797.43
• Elko County: $764,286.23
• White Pine County: $401,538.60
• Mineral County: $371,569.40
• Lyon County: $236,163.62
• Humboldt County: $182,485.36
• Clark County: $171,144.34
• Eureka County: $131,021.58
• Lander County: $99,486.28
• Esmeralda County: $47,897.89
• Washoe County: $39,763.49
• Lincoln County: $25,292.68
• Douglas County: $19,317.08
• Carson City: $9,021.92

Senator Cortez Masto is a champion of Nevada's rural communities. Last year, her bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools program through Fiscal Year 2026 was signed into law. Cortez Masto has championed bipartisan legislation to ensure critical funding for rural hospitals and rural cooperatives. She's also introduced legislation to provide funds for homeowners to disaster-proof their houses, including by fireproofing, which is particularly important in rural and remote communities.

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