Cryptocurrency company blocks Nevada Department of Wildlife from monitoring wild sheep - Reno Gazette Journal

A company that tried and failed to form its own government in Nevada is now battling with a state agency over one of the Silver State's most beloved animals.

Emails obtained by the Reno Gazette Journal show Blockchains, a cryptocurrency company based in Sparks, Nev., and Germany, has prohibited Nevada Department of Wildlife employees from entering any of its property to manage and care for the range's desert bighorn sheep.

Once on the brink of extinction, a herd of desert bighorn sheep — Nevada's state animal — was reintroduced to the Virginia Range a decade ago.

The range spans nearly 240,000 acres, but just 80,000 acres are publicly owned. Roughly 107,000 acres are part of the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, the largest industrial center in the country. In the center, about 67,000 acres are owned by Blockchains.

But a recent email from Blockchains let NDOW officials know that it does "not grant access to anyone from NDOW being on our property for any purpose."

This poses a problem for state wildlife officials, who rely on aerial and ground surveys to monitor and care for the sheep, and prevents them from relocating sheep to and from the site as needed.

Establishing the Virginia Range herd

At one time, up to one million desert bighorn sheep roamed the West from British Columbia down to Texas and Mexico. But by the 1950s, that number had dwindled to just 25,000 to 30,000 due to factors including disease spread by domestic sheep and unregulated hunting.

By 1960, the number of desert bighorns in Nevada dropped to about 2,500, mostly in the Mojave Desert where it was too hot and dry for domestic sheep to thrive.

As the animals faced extinction, Western agencies embarked on a program to restore desert bighorn sheep populations. Now, Nevada boasts about 11,000 desert bighorn sheep scattered throughout the state, the largest population in the continental United States, according to NDOW.

In 2011 and 2012, NDOW reintroduced 53 desert bighorn sheep to the Virginia Range, a sprawling collection of moderate-elevation peaks east of Reno that stretches east to Fallon and south to Carson City. With a high point of 7,864 at Mt. Davidson, the range is known for the thousands of feral horses that call it home.

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By around 2017, the range's sheep population had grown to about 130. Some had GPS trackers so NDOW biologists could monitor them, and in spring, biologists would head out to survey new lambs.

But in spring of 2021, only about 90 sheep were recorded, and NDOW biologists haven't been on the range in about eight months.

Prior to the sheep's reintroduction to the Virginia Range, NDOW entered into a cooperative agreement with Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center about what the reintroduction effort would look like. The agreement spelled out that, among other things, NDOW could establish water guzzlers on the property and capture, care for, transport and monitor sheep as needed. Wildlife throughout the state is, on occasion, captured for collaring and monitoring purposes or transported to other locations for repopulation efforts.

The agreement also laid out plans to make the bighorn sheep population accessible for wildlife viewing opportunities and educational purposes.

But in 2018, TRIC owner Lance Gilman sold more than half of the industrial center's property to Blockchains. And that agreement went by the wayside.

Denied access 'for any purpose'

Once land ownership transferred to Blockchains, NDOW proposed a cooperative agreement outlining terms similar to the one with Gilman, again allowing the agency to capture, transport, inspect, release and monitor wildlife as needed.

But Blockchains' legal team has never given a nod to the agreement, according to the emails obtained by the RGJ.

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Gilman's spokesman, Kris Thompson, said in an email to the RGJ that TRIC supports a "live and let live" policy for wildlife and that CEO Jeff Berns "is as committed as we are to this principle, perhaps even more so."

"Jeff Berns is highly motivated on environmental issues. That's an issue that's near and dear to his heart," Thompson said in a follow-up call. "I have a hard time believing Jeff is not giving them all the access that they want."

But in mid-February, NDOW received an email from Blockchains denying access to undeveloped land in TRIC "for any purpose."

"It's been a longstanding position of ours that we do not support captures or roundups," the company wrote. Although it recognizes NDOW has no immediate plans for captures or roundups, "even a future intent is not agreeable to us."  

Further emails from Blockchains state that the company's "position won't change on collaring and roundups." However, Stephanie Sciarani, senior vice president of operations, said in an email to NDOW that the company is considering allowing the agency access to maintain water guzzlers and complete wildlife surveys.

Sciarani did not reply to emails from the Reno Gazette about the matter.

Blockchains has approved Wild Horse Connection, a nonprofit group that monitors and protects the range's feral horses, onto its property to feed and water the horses. The group does emergency diversionary feeding in the late fall, winter and early spring, according to director Corenna Vance. The sheep also have access to that water and have been spotted drinking from private guzzlers, according to Vance. 

A failed attempt at a smart city

Despite owning more than half of the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, Blockchains' land is relatively undeveloped, and, at this point, allowing access would minimally disturb the vast acreage — at 67,000 acres, Blockchains' property is larger than the city of Sacramento. 

From the archive: 

Plans for the company's land has shifted since it was purchased — for a period, the company was proposing a futuristic "smart city" run entirely on blockchain. Blockchain is a digital ledger of transactions. The system of recording information makes it difficult to impossible to change or hack the system. 

In a previous interview with the RGJ, Berns said he wanted to form the city in the Nevada desert outside of traditional government oversight.

The smart city would include "Innovation Zones" — a new, county-like jurisdiction independent from traditional government oversight. The proposal had the support of Gov. Sisolak and state lobbyists, but last year, Blockchains announced it would no longer be moving forward with its plans. The company cited a lack of support from the state.

Amy Alonzo covers the outdoors, recreation and environment for Nevada and Lake Tahoe. Reach her at aalonzo@gannett.com.