Why You Should Care

The NLCS, which serves as open, 

undeveloped escapes for Americans 

near and far, is a showcase for the 

BLM’s conservation side of its multipleuse mandate. From establishing 

interpretive visitor centers to helping 

plan and implement important 

resource management plans, community 

stewardship benefits gateway economies as 

well as the NLCS and its myriad resources. 

Opportunities abound for primitive camping, 

hiking, fishing, and rafting, along with riding 

off-highway vehicles, mountain bikes, and horses 

on backcountry roads and trails. Traditional uses such as hunting 

and grazing occur on most NLCS lands. Many areas offer a glimpse 

into our past through an abundance of heritage and cultural 

resources. 

Scientific research is fundamental in accomplishing the NLCS 

mission of conserving, protecting, and restoring treasured 

landscapes. Lands within the NLCS serve as outdoor laboratories 

and classrooms offering scientists and students opportunities for 

research, data collection, and unique, exciting discoveries.

Restoration is a key mission on these special public lands. 

Accomplished with the assistance of others, partnerships are 

essential. Research and monitoring of restored areas add to the 

BLM’s knowledge base and support better decisionmaking.

Discover NLCS Treasured 

Landscapes

•	The only physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark expedition in

situ—William Clark’s 1806 signature in sandstone—is located 

within Pompeys Pillar National Monument, Montana. 

www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/fo/billings_field_office/Pompeys_

Pillar.html

•	One of the NLCS’s newest units, Dominguez-Escalante National

Conservation Area, Colorado, offers scenic panoramas, rafting on 

the Gunnison River, and cryptic clues to the area’s ancient past. 

www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/denca.html

•	Crossroads to three ecoregions—Klamath, Cascade, and

Siskiyou—Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, Oregon, has 

the highest density of butterflies in the United States. 

www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/csnm/index.php

•	In Wyoming, the BLM is steward to more than 60 percent of the

Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express Trails. The

National Historic Trails Center in Casper highlights our country’s 

Western expansion. 

www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/NHTIC.html

•	BLM-Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is

so remote that it was the last place in the lower 48 States to be 

formally mapped. Study of the formations within the monument 

has yielded more information about land-based ecosystem 

change at the end of the dinosaur era than almost any other 

place in the world. Scientists have discovered significant 

dinosaur fossils including two new genera of horned dinosaurs. 

www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/grand_staircase-escalante.html

•	Volunteers contribute hundreds of thousands of hours annually

to help conserve, protect, and restore these treasured landscapes 

through volunteer vacations, community partnerships, and youth 

organizations. 

www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/NLCS/

learning_landscapes/for_volunteers.html

A System Grounded in 

Conservation and Science

The National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) is one 

of America’s best-kept secrets. These treasured landscapes, 

managed by the Bureau of Land Management, are located 

from coast-to-coast and include 885 federally recognized 

areas covering over 27 million acres. 

Many of these lands are rugged and remote, offering 

solitude in a backcountry setting. Others are just minutes 

from major metropolitan areas or burgeoning 

communities. The NLCS comprises spectacular, 

inspiring, and unique landscapes that serve as a 

backdrop for rare and endangered animals and plants, 

historical journeys, paleontological remains, and sacred 

Native American sites. And the NLCS is so much more ...

•	643 bee species were discovered at Utah’s Grand

Staircase-Escalante National Monument during a

2000–2005 survey. This is the highest density of bee 

species found in the intermountain region. 

•	Canyon of the Ancients National Monument in Colorado

has one of the highest densities of archeological sites in 

the country, with nearly 100 sites per square mile in places. 

•	Located in the heart of the Lost Coast region of California,

King Range National Conservation Area protects 25 miles

of coastal wilderness.

•	Paddlefish, with ancestors dating back to the Eocene

epoch (48 million years ago), thrive in the protected 

backwaters of the Upper Missouri Wild and Scenic River. 
A system of treasured landscapes set aside 

for their nationally significant cultural, 

ecological, and scientific values 

National Landscape 

Conservation System

•	16 National Monuments

•	21 National Conservation Areas and similar

designations

•	8.7 million acres of Wilderness

•	12.8 million acres of Wilderness Study Areas

•	2,415 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers

•	6,006 miles of National Scenic and Historic Trails

•	Conservation Lands of the California Desert

National 

Landscape 

Conservation

System

Conserve, Protect, and Restore

The BLM manages more land – 256 million acres – than any other 

Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public 

Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. 

The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 

700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the 

nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health 

and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of 

present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by 

managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, 

mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving 

natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.

www.blm.gov/nlcs 06-09

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, New Mexico

King Range, California

Tunnison Mountain Wilderness Study Area, Photo by Bob Wick

Editing, layout, and design by the Information and Publishing Services Section

 BLM National Operations Center