Nevada Law Requiring Removal of ‘Useless’ Grass Has Killed 100,000 Las Vegas Trees, Lawsuit Claims

A lawsuit claims that a Nevada law that calls for removing ornamental grass to conserve water has caused the death of 100,000 trees in the Las Vegas Valley.

As Mike Bedigan explains in Independent, “The law, first passed in 2021, targets what the Southern Nevada Water Authority refers to as ‘non-functional turf’ and makes it illegal to irrigate such areas with water from the Colorado River, beginning in 2027.” The law proposes replacing eight square miles of grass in the metro area for an estimated 15 percent reduction in water consumption.

The lawsuit alleges that many trees cannot survive once nearby grass is disturbed, and that the law has caused roughly $300 million in damage. “Beyond monetary loss, the green mature canopy (and its heat mitigation benefits) cannot be replaced quickly,” wrote Norm Schilling, a horticulturist, in a declaration in the lawsuit.