Nevada has a long history of mining due to its unique geology that provides ideal conditions for a variety of valuable minerals. Those that have exploited this mineral wealth, however, have left behind various mine-related features, such as shafts, adits, glory holes, stopes, and mill sites that have proven dangerous to animals and the general public; 200,000 to 300,000 of these features continue to exist across the state. The Nevada Abandoned Mine Lands Program (NAMLP) of the Nevada Division of Minerals (NDOM) maintains a growing inventory of recognized abandoned mine lands (AML) hazards, see Known Mine Hazards in the District54. Each AML hazard site may include multiple features.

All AML closures in the district are handled as a multi-agency endevour consisting of four agencies. The BLM handles the NEPA evaluation and acquires the funding to permanently close the most hazardous sites. The Army Corps of Engineers designs the parameters for these closures. NDOM locates and ranks the AMLs. Bureau of Reclamation does the installation and fieldwork. For low-ranking hazards based on the AML evaluations, NDOM will fence these hazards through numerous public outreach programs particularly, with the Boy Scouts.