U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
Nevada State Office
Nevada State Office
| Contacts: | Doran Sanchez | , 775-861-6629 | , doran_sanchez@blm.gov | |
| JoLynn Worley | , 775-861-6515 | , jolynn_worley@blm.gov |
Funding Approved for Lincoln County Cultural Resource Projects
Reno, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey has approved nearly $750,000 for archaeological projects in Lincoln County. The funds are available through the Lincoln County Lands Act (LCLA), which authorize the use of revenues from the sale of public lands in Lincoln County for specific purposes.
The Round 2 Archaeological Initiative expenditures that are approved include documentation and analysis of rock shelters and rock art sites, Fremont settlement inventory and educational outreach, and historic mining district inventory, evaluation and protection.
“The public lands in Lincoln County are rich in cultural resources,” said Abbey. “The funding provided by the Act helps the BLM to fulfill our responsibility to manage cultural resources on these lands. Additionally, the project work, much of it to be conducted by contractors, will provide jobs and an economic boost to the area.”
The list of approved projects and project amounts will be posted on the BLM’s Ely District website as soon as the contracts are awarded.
The approved projects were vetted through a review process that included representatives from the Duckwater Tribe, Lincoln County, the State Historic Preservation Office, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
The LCLA created a special account in which 85 percent of the revenues from land sales are deposited into a special account. The remaining funds are distributed to the State of Nevada (5 percent) and to Lincoln County (10 percent). Funds in the special account may be used for a variety of archaeological resource projects, including the inventory, evaluation, protection and management of unique archaeological resources of Lincoln County.
Call Carol Bass, project manager special legislation, BLM Nevada Ely District Office, at (775) 289-1803 for more information regarding the archaeological projects in Lincoln County.
The BLM manages more land - 253 million acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.