National Landscape
Conservation System (NLCS)
The National Landscape Conservation System is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2010. To visit the 10th Anniversary webpage, please click here.
Landscapes of the American Spirit
The Bureau of Land Management’s National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) contains some of the West’s most spectacular landscapes. It includes over 886 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 NLCS is uniquely diverse. It encompasses 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 NLCS also reveals and protects our cultural legacy. It safeguards American Indian cliff dwellings and cultural sites, and preserves the remaining traces of our Nation’s historic trails and pathways.
The NLCS works to conserve the essential fabric of the West. NLCS areas 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 NLCS sustains for the future- and for everyone - these remarkable landscapes of the American spirit.
On March 24th, at 3:30 pm (EDT) NLCS will be hosting an Open House Event with the Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar, and Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Bob Abbey, to kick off the National Landscape Conservation System's 10th Anniversary Celebrations. If you would like to learn more about the event, please click here.
This is a year to celebrate our accomplishments and look towards the future of the conservation system. There will be numerous events hosted throughout 2010 to celebrate our 10th Anniversary.
A national 10th Anniversary webpage has been developed to provide more information about the anniversary, and events including an interactive map and an interactive calendar of events.
Many states have developed their own 10th Anniversary web pages to highlight local events, including: Arizona, California, Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah.
Registration has opened for our Science Symposium, A Decade of Discovery. Visit the NLCS Science Program page to learn more about the event and to register.
We look forward to celebrating the path less traveled with you in 2010!
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