§460www Red Cliffs National Conservation Area

Summary

Creates the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area of about 44,725 acres to protect and improve its natural, scenic, wildlife, recreational, cultural, historical, educational, and scientific values, and to protect any species in the area that are listed as threatened or endangered under section 1533(c)(1). It recognizes several existing plans by name and date: the Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan (Feb 23, 1996), the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve Public Use Plan (June 12, 2000), and the St. George Field Office Resource Management Plan (Mar 15, 1999). The area is established subject to valid existing rights. The Secretary must write a long-term management plan by three years after March 30, 2009 (by March 30, 2012), after talking with state, tribal, and local governments and the public, and may use parts of the plans named above if they fit. The Secretary must manage the area to conserve and enhance its resources and must follow the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and other laws. Uses are allowed only if they help those purposes. Motor vehicles are allowed only on roads the management plan names, except for official or emergency use. Livestock grazing that existed before March 30, 2009 may continue under rules and law and must fit the area’s purposes. Fire fighting and control may be done with other agencies. Any land the United States later buys inside the area becomes part of it and is managed the same way. Federal land there is withdrawn from public entry, mining claims, and mineral and geothermal leasing laws, and newly acquired land is withdrawn when bought. Utilities may be built only if they follow the habitat conservation plan’s utility protocols and other law.