§460qqq–3 Management

Summary

Manage the Conservation Area to protect, conserve, and improve its natural resources. The Secretary, working through the Bureau of Land Management, must follow the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and other laws, and allow only uses that support the purpose in section 460qqq. Within 3 years after November 6, 2002, the Secretary must make a management plan with input from the State, the city of Henderson, the County, and others. The plan must say how the area will be used and cared for, allow motorized vehicles only as needed to build or fix water projects (like guzzlers) that help wildlife and with limits no stricter than those that apply in wilderness areas under section 208, and give ideas to reduce the visual effects of that work. The plan must also include a litter cleanup and public-lands education effort and recommend where a rural road right-of-way should go to give Henderson access, per application N–65874. Motorized travel is only allowed on roads and trails the plan names, except for administration or emergencies. All public land in the Conservation Area is withdrawn, subject to valid existing rights, from public land entry, mining claims, and mineral, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws. If the Secretary buys mineral or other interests in land there after November 6, 2002, that land is withdrawn on the date of purchase. The State keeps its authority over fish and wildlife, including hunting, fishing, and trapping. The Secretary can temporarily close areas or set times when hunting, fishing, or trapping is not allowed for safety, management, or law reasons, but must consult the State agency before doing so except in emergencies. Creating the Conservation Area does not make a protective buffer around it, and nearby private landowners may continue lawful uses of their land.