A federal appeals panel just paused construction on the Townsite data center outside Boulder City, Nevada — the first data center ever proposed for federal public land in the United States. But the pause is only temporary. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved this massive facility without ever completing an environmental review built specifically for this project, relying instead on outdated paperwork originally written for a solar energy proposal at the same site.

The Interior Board of Land Appeals ruled that the challenge brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter, and local Boulder City residents is "likely to succeed on the merits," according to the board's own order. That's a strong signal the original approval was rushed and unlawful. But a stay only holds the line until the appeal is decided — it doesn't stop the BLM from trying again, and it doesn't stop the agency from greenlighting similar data centers already proposed elsewhere on Nevada's public land.

The Boulder City residents who joined this fight say their health and their desert home are what's at stake. "We love our community and our desert, and we're so grateful to our friends and neighbors for working hard to protect both," said Brynn deLorimier, a Boulder City resident, in comments about the ruling. Public land was never meant to be handed over to tech companies for massive server farms — it belongs to everyone.

The BLM should drop the Townsite project for good and commit to full, project-specific environmental review before any future data center is even considered on Nevada's public lands. Sign the petition to demand the BLM permanently cancel the Townsite data center and keep our public lands public.