§460ooo–4 Management of the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area

Summary

The Secretary must run the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area so its natural resources and values are conserved, protected, and improved. Only uses that help the Area’s stated purposes are allowed. Grazing is allowed if it follows other laws and fits the Area’s goals. Motorized vehicles are allowed only for management or emergencies, and otherwise only on roads and trails that were open for vehicles in the plan that applied on December 6, 2000 until a new management plan takes effect. After a new plan is in effect, vehicles may only use roads and trails the new plan allows. The FAA-approved restricted military airspace (Areas 2303A and 2303B) that existed before December 6, 2000 is not changed by the Area’s designation, and the military can seek future airspace changes. Existing rights-of-way remain valid, and reasonable access must be given to private or state lands inside the Area. Hunting is allowed under U.S. and Arizona laws, but the Secretary, after talking with the Arizona wildlife agency, can set no-hunt zones or times for safety or public use. The Secretary may also take steps to prevent major fires, insect outbreaks, or disease. The Area’s creation does not create buffer zones that limit uses just outside its boundary. All federal lands in the Area, and lands the United States later buys there, are withdrawn from public entry, mining claims, and mineral or geothermal leasing, subject to valid existing rights.