House Committee Approves the National Landsape Conservation System Act
H.R. 2016 would make the 26 million-acre NLCS a permanent entity of the Bureau of Land Management

The House Natural Resources Committee passed H.R. 2016, the National Landscape Conservation System Act, on March 12. The legislation, introduced by Congressman Raúl Grijalva (AZ) would make the 26-million-acre National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) a permanent entity of the Bureau of Land Management.

The NLCS was established by the Department of Interior in 2000 to protect more than 800 of the West’s most ecologically and historically significant landscapes including many national conservation areas, national monuments, wilderness areas, wilderness study areas, wild and scenic rivers, and national historic and scenic trails. The Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, the Lewis and Clark National Trail, the Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, and the California National Historic Trail are just a few examples of these treasured lands and waters. NLCS units provide millions of Americans each year the opportunity for recreation and wildlife viewing and serve as an important tool for scientific research and ecological education. Preserving these areas provides a lasting legacy of the American West for future generations of Americans to enjoy.

However, unlike the national parks and the national wildlife refuges, the NLCS could face long-term efforts to dissolve the system and its units under its current status. Although the NLCS has been administratively supported by both President Clinton and President George W. Bush, it has not yet received statutory recognition within Congress. H.R. 2016 would provide a congressional stamp of approval for the NLCS to ensure that it will exist in the future. Congressional authorization would also create more awareness of the NLCS and recognition of its units, which have been referred to as “crown jewels” within the Bureau of Land Management.

The bill does not provide additional funding for the system or its units and would not alter existing oil and gas or grazing leases or public access for recreation, fishing, and hunting. Under H.R. 2016, each NLCS unit would continue to be managed in accordance with its establishing legislation or proclamation.

The bill will now be scheduled for a vote by the full House of Representatives. In the Senate, a similar bill, S. 1139, sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman (NM), was passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in June 2007 and awaits consideration on the Senate floor. The issue has received broad support from a bipartisan caucus of legislators along with the endorsement of the administration. ASLA strongly supports passage of legislation that would make the NLCS permanent and continues, along with a broad coalition of organizations and individuals across the country, to work with Congress on this important issue.