BLM’s Land Use Planning Handbook (H-1601-1) differentiates between geographic areas associated with planning. They include the planning area, decision area, and analysis area:

The planning area is situated in southern Nevada and includes all of Clark County and portions of Nye County. The southern end of the planning area forms a large “V” shape. The east leg of the V is composed of the Nevada/Arizona state boundary with Lake Mead National Recreation Area (NRA); Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument; Mojave County, Ariz.; and lands managed by the BLM’s Arizona Strip and Kingman field offices adjacent to BLM-administered lands within the planning area. The west leg of the V is composed of the Nevada/California state boundary, with Death Valley National Park, the Mojave National Preserve, San Bernardino County, Calif., and public lands managed by the BLM’s Barstow and Needles field offices. The northern boundary of the planning area is predominantly bounded by the USFWS Desert National Wildlife Range, the Department of Defense Nevada Test and Training Range, and the Department of Energy Nevada National Security Site. Also to the north of the planning area lies the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, Lincoln and Esmerelda counties in Nevada, and lands managed by the BLM’s Caliente and Tonopah field offices. Major drainages within the planning area include the Amargosa, Muddy, and Virgin rivers and the Meadow Valley Wash.

The decision area surrounds, but does not include, the U.S. Forest Service Spring Mountains NRA, Red Rock Canyon NCA, Sloan Canyon NCA, Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. The decision area does include federal mineral estates underlying Valley of Fire State Park and other lands where the surface is in non-federal ownership but the mineral estate is retained by the federal government.

Southern Nevada is characterized by diverse geographical features. Landforms range from rugged mountain ranges to sloping bajadas and broad valleys. The Colorado River and several of its tributaries flow through the eastern portions of the planning area. The Las Vegas Valley portion of the planning area is a major topographic feature, trending north-south through the middle of the planning area. This valley has an expanding metropolitan area consisting of the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson. Much of the planning area, however, remains remote and rural, with the population clustered in small communities, usually associated with the availability of water. The public lands in the planning area have important scenic, recreational, mineral, archaeological, wilderness, wildlife, and vegetative values. Public uses of these resources often have an important role in the growth and development of local and other communities.

Of the approximately 5,322,160 acres of land within the planning area, this RMP will make decisions only for the BLM surface estate and the federal mineral estate managed by the LVFO and PFO. Surface Management Areas displays management responsibilities/ownership for lands within the planning area. A complete map of the mineral estate for the planning area does not exist, therefore the table only identifies surface management ownership and does not include mineral ownership.

In areas where the land surface is privately owned or owned by the state of Nevada or local governments and the minerals are federally owned, the RMP will include planning and management decisions only for the BLM-administered federal mineral estate. The land and resource uses and values on the non-federal surface will be taken into account in the impact analysis and will affect development of the federal minerals. However, the RMP decisions will not pertain to non-mineral state and private actions on non-federal surface. Surface and minerals management actions and development activities of non-federal surfaces and mineral estate will be taken into account for purposes of cumulative impact analysis in the Las Vegas/Pahrump RMP/EIS.

In areas where the federal land surface is administered by the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, or other federal agencies and the federal mineral estate is administered by the BLM, the land-surface planning and management decisions are the responsibility of those other federal surface management agencies. BLM administrative responsibilities within these areas are handled on a case-by-case basis and are guided by the other surface management agencies’ policies, procedures, and plans when applying stipulations or restrictions. Surface and minerals management actions and development activities anticipated in these areas will be taken into account for purposes of cumulative impact analysis in the Las Vegas/Pahrump RMP/EIS.