Black Rock protection

Nevada’s Black Rock Desert National Conservation Area was established as part of a 26-million acre National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) last week, when President Obama signed a sweeping lands package. The Washington Post called the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 the “most significant wilderness law in at least 15 years.” Within it, the NLCS aims to protect the most environmentally and historically significant lands controlled by the Bureau of Land Management. The designation requires the BLM to make conservation a priority when managing areas within the NLCS. The law contains language that protects access to hunting, fishing, trapping and recreational shooting.