The National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) was administratively established in 2000 and legislatively codified in the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (PL 111-11). This system encompasses nearly 900 units spread across approximately 27 million acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM is mandated to conserve, protect and restore the outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values of NLCS units. Scientific investigation can aid in the conservation, protection, and restoration of these lands, and therefore, science is strategically planned and organized within NLCS units.

The objectives of this science plan are to: 

• Identify the scientific mission of the unit
• Summarize past scientific efforts in the unit, i.e. the scientific background of the unit
• Identify the priority needs and management issues within the unit that can be addressed by scientific inquiry
• Define a strategy for accomplishing the scientific goals of the unit
• Develop science protocols to, for example, ensure that scientific inquiry does not negatively impact the long term sustainability of the unit and its resources
• Create a system to organize scientific reports
• Help and promote the integration of science into management