Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced legislation today to force approval of the Horizon Lateral Pipeline, which would deliver Colorado River water to feed new sprawl development south of Las Vegas. The pipeline’s route would go directly across Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, a protected area that’s home to world-famous petroglyphs and other cultural artifacts. The conservation area provides important habitat for desert bighorn sheep, Nevada’s state animal. … The pipeline is an essential piece of Cortez Masto’s plan to extend the Las Vegas urban footprint south to the California state line. In 2021 the Bureau of Land Management denied the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s right-of-way application for the pipeline because it would go through the conservation area, designated in 2002 as mitigation for other public lands sold off for Las Vegas sprawl.