Title 16ConservationRelease 119-73

§460hhhh Numunaa Nobe National Conservation Area

Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 1— - NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER CXLV— - NUMUNAA NOBE NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA › § 460hhhh

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates the Numunaa Nobe National Conservation Area in Churchill County, Nevada, to protect its cultural, historical, natural, wildlife, scientific, scenic, recreational, and related resources. The area covers about 160,224 acres shown on a map called "Churchill County Proposed Fallon Range Training Complex Modernization and Lands Bill" dated November 30, 2022, which is on file at Bureau of Land Management offices. The Secretary of the Interior will manage the area as part of the National Landscape Conservation System and must follow this law and other federal land laws. The Secretary must write a management plan within 2 years after December 23, 2022, and talk with federal, state, Tribal, local governments, and the public while doing it. The plan must say what uses are allowed, where motor vehicles may go (including keeping existing roads), and include certain existing military and BLM agreements (including the July 6, 1998 Search and Rescue Training Cooperative Agreement and the January 25, 2012 Carson City District BLM Administrative Guide). Only uses that help the area’s purpose are allowed. Motor vehicles are allowed only on designated roads and trails except for administrative needs, planned military activities in the listed agreements, or emergencies. Public land in the area is withdrawn from most mining, leasing, and sale laws, subject to valid existing rights. State authority over fish and wildlife remains, though the Secretary can close areas or times for safety or administration after consulting the State and notifying the public (except in emergencies). Existing grazing as of December 23, 2022, may continue under law. No buffer zone, no water-rights reservation, and military low-level flights, testing, or airspace designations are not limited.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §460hhhh

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(1)In this section:
(A)The term “Conservation Area” means the Numunaa Nobe National Conservation Area established by paragraph (2).
(B)The term “management plan” means the management plan for the Conservation Area developed under paragraph (3)(B).
(C)The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior.
(2)(A)To conserve, protect, and enhance for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations the cultural, archaeological, natural, wilderness, scientific, geological, historical, biological, wildlife, educational, recreational, and scenic resources of the Conservation Area, subject to valid existing rights, there is established the Numunaa Nobe National Conservation Area in the State of Nevada, to be administered by the Secretary.
(B)(i)The Conservation Area shall consist of approximately 160,224 acres of public land in Churchill County, Nevada, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Churchill County Proposed Fallon Range Training Complex Modernization and Lands Bill” and dated November 30, 2022.
(ii)The map described in clause (i) shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management.
(3)(A)The Secretary shall administer the Conservation Area in a manner that conserves, protects, and enhances the resources of the Conservation Area—
(i)in accordance with—
(I)this section;
(II)the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
(III)any other applicable law; and
(ii)as a component of the National Landscape Conservation System.
(B)(i)Not later than 2 years after December 23, 2022, the Secretary shall develop a management plan for the Conservation Area.
(ii)In developing the management plan, the Secretary shall consult with—
(I)appropriate Federal, State, Tribal, and local governmental entities; and
(II)members of the public.
(iii)The management plan shall—
(I)describe the appropriate uses of the Conservation Area;
(II)in accordance with paragraph (5), authorize the use of motor vehicles in the Conservation Area, where appropriate, including for the maintenance of existing roads; and
(III)incorporate any provision of an applicable land and resource management plan that the Secretary considers to be appropriate, to include the Search and Rescue Training Cooperative Agreement between the Bureau of Land Management and the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Training Center dated July 6, 1998, and the Carson City District BLM Administrative Guide to Military Activities on and Over the Public Lands dated January 25, 2012.
(4)The Secretary shall allow only those uses of the Conservation Area that the Secretary determines would further the purposes of the Conservation Area.
(5)Except as needed for administrative purposes, planned military activities authorized by paragraph (3)(B)(iii)(III), or to respond to an emergency, the use of motorized vehicles in the Conservation Area shall be permitted only on roads and trails designated for the use of motorized vehicles by the management plan.
(6)(A)Subject to valid existing rights, all public land in the Conservation Area is withdrawn from—
(i)all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws;
(ii)location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
(iii)disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials.
(B)If the Secretary acquires mineral or other interests in a parcel of land within the Conservation Area after December 23, 2022, the parcel is withdrawn from operation of the laws referred to in subparagraph (A) on the date of acquisition of the parcel.
(7)(A)Subject to subparagraph (B), nothing in this section affects the jurisdiction of the State of Nevada with respect to fish and wildlife, including hunting, fishing, and trapping in the Conservation Area.
(B)(i)The Secretary may designate by regulation areas in which, and establish periods during which, no hunting, fishing, or trapping will be permitted in the Conservation Area, for reasons of public safety, administration, or compliance with applicable laws.
(ii)Except in an emergency, the Secretary shall consult with the appropriate State agency and notify the public before taking any action under clause (i).
(8)In the case of land included in the Conservation Area on which the Secretary permitted, as of December 23, 2022, livestock grazing, the livestock grazing shall be allowed to continue, subject to applicable laws (including regulations).
(9)(A)Nothing in this section creates a protective perimeter or buffer zone around the Conservation Area.
(B)The fact that an activity or use on land outside the Conservation Area can be seen or heard within the Conservation Area shall not preclude the activity or use outside the boundary of the Conservation Area.
(10)Nothing in this section restricts or precludes—
(A)low-level overflights of military aircraft over the Conservation Area, including military overflights that can be seen or heard within the Conservation Area;
(B)flight testing and evaluation; or
(C)the designation or creation of new units of special use airspace, or the establishment of military flight training routes, over the Conservation Area.
(10)Nothing in this section constitutes an express or implied reservation of any water rights with respect to the Conservation Area.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, referred to in par. (3)(A)(i)(II), is Pub. L. 94–579, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2743, which is classified principally to chapter 35 (§ 1701 et seq.) of Title 43, Public Lands. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1701 of Title 43 and Tables.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 460hhhh

Title 16Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73