In addition to protected Wilderness areas, Nevada includes special designations to protect the ecological and natural integrity of American public lands within our state, such as: National Monuments, National Parks, National Recreation Areas, National Conservation Areas, and National Wildlife Refuges. Many of these conservation lands include designated or identified wilderness character lands in addition to a surrounding area to provide for protection and preservation for natural and cultural resource in a broader context. These Nevada National Conservation Lands include some of the most stunning scenery and cultural landscapes within the nation.
Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Why is National Conservation Management for Public Land in Nevada Important?
There has been a long-time misconception that the American public lands in Nevada are a wasteland and a national sacrifice area suited only for resource extraction, bombing, nuclear testing, radioactive waste, utility right of ways, renewable energy development, and industrial development. Nevada, however, encompasses some of the most diverse ecosystems in the United States, featuring environments as unique as the the sun-drenched Mojave Desert to alpine glacial cirques. With over 300 named mountain ranges separated by intervening valleys, the Nevada has experienced an evolutionary acceleration of ecosystems adapting to the diverse environments of the state. Each of these ecosystem has developed unique approaches to maximize and sustain life, often within extremely harsh environments. Nevada's ecosystems have found a way, through millions of years of evolution, to maximize the photosynthesis, support wildlife, and sequester carbon. As the earth plunges into and era of anthropogenic warming, these natural ecosystems are more important than even to protect. For nearly 1,000 generations, the ancestors of today's Northern Paiute, Washoe, Monache, Western Shoshone, Shoshone-Bannock, Goshute, Southern Paiute, Hualapai, Chemehuevi, and Mojave people discovered the secrets of Nevada's diverse ecosystems and created life-ways that have flourished in excess of 15,000 years. Nevada's Conservation Lands help protect these natural and cultural landscapes for all future generation.
Today, Nevada's Conservation Managed lands are more relevant than ever as development sprawls and our urban centers grow. Your support will keep us working hard to protect areas, like the recently protected Avi Kwa Ame National Monument on March 21, 2023.
Gold Butte National Monument
Nevada’s National Conservation Managed Lands
Gold Butte National Monument
Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area
Basin and Range National Monument
Desert National Wildlife Refuge
Kiba Canyon Range National Conservation Area (Proposed)
Lake Mead National Recreation Area- Gates of the Grand Canyon
Massacre Rim Dark Sky National Conservation Area (Proposed)
Numunaa Nobe National Conservation Area
Smoke Creek National Conservation Area (Proposed)