National Conservation Lands
National Conservation Lands, formally known as the National Landscape Conservation System, is a collection of lands in 904 federally recognized areas considered to be the crown jewels of the American West. These lands represent 15% of the managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The BLM is the largest federal public land manager and is responsible for over 40% of all the federal public land in the nation. The other major federal public land managers include the US Forest Service, National Park Service, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Over the years, the Bureau of Land Management has had to adjust its approach to public land management to fit the changing needs of the nation. The BLM historically has managed lands under its jurisdiction for extractive uses, such as mining, logging, grazing, and oil and gas production. In 1983, Congress acknowledged the value of watersheds, wildlife habitat, recreation, scenery, scientific exploration and other non-extractive uses with the designation of the first BLM-managed wilderness area—the Bear Trap Canyon unit of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness in Montana. In 1996, President Clinton underscored non-extractive priorities on BLM lands when he established the first national monument to be administered by the BLM—the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. With this and several similar designations, a new focus emerged that would become part of how the agency looks at the land it manages: the protection of special areas where conservation and restoration of the landscape and its biological or cultural resources is the overriding objective.
The Bureau of Land Management's National Landscape Conservation System, better known as the National Conservation Lands, was created in 2000 with the mission to "conserve, protect, and restore these nationally significant landscapes that have outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values for the benefit of current and future generations."
There are eleven federal conservation designations for the units that make up the National Conservation Lands:
When the Conservation System was created in 2000 without Congressional authorization, there was no guarantee that the System would be permanent. The National Landscape Conservation System Act was signed into law in March 2009 as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. The Act permanently unified the individual units as a public lands System, protecting the System in law so that it would no longer exist at the pleasure of each president. This marked the first new congressionally authorized public lands system in decades.
The act also added of new designations to the System, including a National Monument, three National Conservation Areas, Wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers and National Scenic Trails.
List of National Conservation Lands areas
National monuments
As of January 2026, there are 31 sites totaling.National conservation areas (NCAs)
As of January 2026, there are 19 sites totaling.| Conservation Area | State | Established | Federal area | Non-federal area | Total area |
| Beaver Dam Wash | Utah | 2009 | |||
| Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails | Nevada | 2000 | |||
| Dominguez–Escalante | Colorado | 2009 | |||
| El Malpais | New Mexico | 1987 | |||
| Fort Stanton–Snowy River Cave | New Mexico | 2009 | |||
| Gila Box Riparian | Arizona | 1990 | |||
| Gunnison Gorge | Colorado | 1999 | |||
| John Wesley Powell | Utah | 2019 | |||
| King Range | California | 1970 | |||
| Las Cienegas | Arizona | 2000 | |||
| McInnis Canyons | Colorado | 2000 | |||
| Numanaa Nobe | Nevada | 2022 | |||
| Pistone Black Mouintains | Nevada | 2022 | |||
| Red Cliffs | Utah | 2009 | |||
| Red Rock Canyon | Nevada | 1990 | |||
| San Pedro Riparian | Arizona | 1988 | |||
| Sloan Canyon | Nevada | 2002 | |||
| Snake River [Birds of Prey National Conservation Area|Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey] | Idaho | 1993 | |||
| Steese | Alaska | 1980 |
BLM wilderness areas
As of January 2026, there are 263 sites totaling. This number excludes wilderness associated with other agencies.Wilderness study areas
There are 487 wilderness study areas with a total area of.National historic trails
As of January 2026, there are 14 sites totaling.Distances and states are noted for BLM lands only.
| Historic trail | BLM states | BLM distance |
| California | CA, ID, NV, OR, UT, WY | |
| Captain John Smith Chesapeake | MD | |
| El [Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail|El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro] | NM | |
| Iditarod | AK | |
| Juan Bautista de Anza | AZ, CA | |
| Lewis and Clark | ID, MT | |
| Mormon Pioneer | WY | |
| Nez Perce | ID, MT, WY | |
| Old Spanish | AZ, CA, CO, NV, NM, UT | |
| Oregon | ID, OR, WY | |
| Pony Express | NV, UT, WY | |
| Star-Spangled Banner | MD | |
| Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route | VA |
National scenic trails
As of January 2026, there are 5 units totaling.Distances and states are noted for BLM lands only.
| Scenic trail | BLM states | BLM distance |
| Arizona | AZ | |
| Continental Divide | CO, ID, MT, NM, WY | |
| Pacific Crest | CA, OR | |
| Pacific Northwest | WA | |
| Potomac Heritage | MD |
National wild and scenic rivers
As of January 2026, there are 81 sites, totaling. The land within these sites total.Other
As of January 2026, there are 7 sites totaling.| Site | State | Established | Federal area | Non-Federal area | Total area |
| Alabama Hills National Scenic Area | California | 2019 | |||
| Headwaters Forest Reserve | California | 1999 | |||
| Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area | Florida | 2008 | |||
| National Conservation Lands of the California Desert | California | 2016 | |||
| Piedras Blancas Light Station Outstanding Natural Area | California | 2008 | |||
| Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area | Oregon | 2000 | |||
| Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area | Oregon | 1980 |