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National Landscape Conservation System
THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION SYSTEM
THE CONSERVATION SYSTEM BECOMES PERMANENT
The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 was signed into law by President Obama on July 12.
In spite of its unexciting name, the scope of the Omnibus is impressive. It:
- adds land to wilderness areas in nine states
- adds miles to the Wild and Scenic River System
- expands our National Scenic and Historic Trails system
- provides landmark protection for over one million acres of wild landscapes in the Wyoming Range
- designates new National Conservation Areas, National Recreation Areas, National Heritage Areas and Corridors
- expands a National Monument
- creates the first new system of conservation lands in over fifty years - the National Landscape Conservation System
WHAT PERMANENCE MEANS
Our efforts working with our partners in the Conservation System Alliance have finally paid off. The passage of the National Landscape Conservation System Act that gives the Conservation System permanent congressional recognition will:
- Ensure the System's permanency
- Sustain the special management of units within the System that were set aside for their remarkable natural, historical, recreation, and/or cultural attributes
- Facilitate a maturation of a national appreciation for the System that will lead to improved management
- Encourage recognition within the BLM of the System as an important and cherished responsibility
- Increase attention paid to the lands by research institutions, researchers, policy-makers and the public
- Encourage scientists to undertake fundamental and applied research on System lands
WHAT IS THE NLCS?
The National Landscape Conservation System is a 26 million acre network of special places that includes National Monuments, Wilderness Areas, Wilderness Study Areas, National Scenic and Historic Trails, Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Conservation Areas. 
The System encompasses only 10% of BLM lands but includes many important biological, cultural, archaeological, historic, paleontological, and geological resources. Collectively, the 866 individual units within the NLCS accommodate a third of BLM's recreation use.
SCIENCE IN THE SYSTEM
The National Landscape Conservation System is known for its scientific resources and conservation values.
Recent discoveries include a "Dinosaur Dance Floor," an area 3/4 the size of a football field covered with over 1,000 dinosaur footprints and rare tail drag marks, in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. The 190 million year old tracks are in an area that was likely a small watering hole surrounded by massive wind swept sand dunes. To read more about this discovery see:
Dinosaur Dance Floor - Numerous Tracks at Jurassic Oasis on Arizona Utah Border
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE NLCS
The Wilderness Society has produced a series of videos about the System that are available on YouTube.
Hidden Treasures of the American West - Part 1
Hidden Treasures of the American West - Part 2
Top photo: Carrizo Plains National Monument, CA
Bottom photo: Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, OR
