National Landscape
Conservation System (NLCS)
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 National Landscape Conservation System is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2010. To visit the 10th Anniversary webpage, please click here.
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 mission of the National Landscape Conservation System is to conserve, protect, and restore these nationally significant landscapes that are recognized for their outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values.
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.
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.
Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar, and Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Bob Abbey, kicked off the NLCS' 10th Anniversary Celebrations with an Open House Event on March 24th. We co-hosed, with the Center for the American West, a roundtable event in Boulder, CO. To listen to a podcast of the event in Boulder, click here.
To read abstracts and features from our Science Symposium, A Decade of Discovery in Albuquerque, co-hosted with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, May 24-28, click here.
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, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.
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