Las Vegas – To protect and restore habitat for 12 Federally-listed wildlife and plant species known to occur only at the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a Public Land Order 7755 to withdraw nearly 9,460 acres of public land and 5,570 acres of reserved Federal minerals within the Refuge in southern Nevada for 20 years from U.S. land entry and mining laws, subject to valid existing rights.
The PLO also transfers jurisdiction of the public lands within the Refuge to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The BLM and the Service have been managing the Refuge through a joint agreement. The Service recently finalized a Comprehensive Conservation Plan under the authority of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act. The most effective and efficient manner to implement the Plan is for the Service to have jurisdiction of the public lands within the Refuge.
Private lands within the Refuge boundary will not be affected by the withdrawal.
The Public Land Order officially withdrawing the lands was published in the Federal Register on Dec. 13, 2010. Public meetings were held in 1999 on the proposed withdrawal and a Finding of No Significant Impact for an environmental assessment was signed in August 2008. A two-year temporary segregation expired in 2000.
The BLM manages more land - more than 245 million acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
