The Bureau of Land Management's National Conservation Lands, also known as the National Landscape Conservation System, contain some of the West’s most spectacular landscapes. They include more than 887 federally recognized areas and approximately 27 million acres of National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Wilderness Areas, Wilderness Study Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Scenic and Historic Trails, and Conservation Lands of the California Desert.
The National Conservation Lands are uniquely diverse. They encompass red-rock deserts and rugged ocean coastlines, deep river canyons and broad Alaskan tundra. Many areas are remote and wild but others are surprisingly accessible. The National Conservation Lands also reveal and protect our cultural legacy. They safeguard American Indian cliff dwellings and cultural sites, and preserve the remaining traces of our Nation’s historic trails and pathways. The mission of the National Conservation Lands is to conserve, protect, and restore these nationally significant landscapes that are recognized for their outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values.
National Conservation Lands are part of an active, vibrant landscape where people live, work and play. They offer exceptional opportunities for recreation, solitude, wildlife viewing, exploring history, scientific research, and a wide range of traditional uses.
These are places that spark the imagination. Their spacious beauty has drawn people to the West for generations. The National Conservation Lands sustain for the future - and for everyone - these remarkable landscapes of the American spirit.
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