§460mm–1 Administration of conservation area

Summary

The Secretary, through the Bureau of Land Management, must run the Steese National Conservation Area under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. Except where valid existing rights apply, the Secretary must write a land use plan for each conservation area named in the law, including the area in section 460mm–2, within five years of Dec. 2, 1980. Public lands inside the conservation area must stay federally owned unless traded under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. Mineral development can be allowed only if it fits the land use plans and under the usual mineral and materials laws. Except where valid existing rights apply, minerals on federal land in these areas are closed to location, entry, and patent under the U.S. mining laws, though the Secretary may choose to open certain lands for locatable mineral exploration if the land use plan allows. Existing and future mining claims must follow reasonable rules the Secretary sets to protect scenic, scientific, cultural, and other resources. Any patent issued after Dec. 2, 1980 only transfers mineral title and the right to use the surface for mining, and is subject to those rules.