§460www Red Cliffs National Conservation Area

Summary

Creates the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area of about 44,725 acres, subject to any valid rights that already exist. It must be managed to protect and improve its natural, scenic, wildlife, recreation, cultural, historic, educational, and scientific values and to protect species in the area that are listed as threatened or endangered. The Secretary of the Interior must create a management plan within 3 years after March 30, 2009 (by March 30, 2012). While writing the plan, the Secretary must consult state, tribal, and local governments and the public, and may use parts of some existing plans. The area must be run under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and other laws. Only uses that help the area’s purposes are allowed. Motor vehicles are only allowed on roads the plan designates, except for emergencies and official use. Livestock grazing that existed before March 30, 2009 may continue under rules and laws and must fit the area’s purposes. The Secretary may conduct wildland fire actions with other agencies. Any land the United States buys inside the area becomes part of it and is managed the same way. Federal land in the area is withdrawn from public land entry, mining claims, and mineral and geothermal leasing; land bought after March 30, 2009 is withdrawn when acquired. Utility projects are allowed only if they follow the habitat conservation plan’s utility protocols and other laws. Defined terms (one line each): the “Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan” (dated February 23, 1996); the “management plan” to be developed by the Secretary under the law; the “Red Cliffs National Conservation Area” (about 44,725 acres as shown on the official map); the “Red Cliffs Desert Reserve Public Use Plan” (dated June 12, 2000, as amended); and the “St. George Field Office Resource Management Plan” (dated March 15, 1999, as amended).