Walking Box Ranch is located approximately 7 miles west of Searchlight, NV. While historically operated as a cattle ranch, the ranch now occupies important desert tortoise habitat. The historic nature of the ranch headquarters, including the ranch house and several associated facilities, has led to its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic context of the ranch and its associated facilities are described in Section 3.3, “Cultural Resources”. This section provides an overview of pertinent land use and management guidance applicable to the Walking Box Ranch.

Originally constructed in 1931-32, the BLM acquired the Walking Box Ranch property in 2005 with funding from the SNPLMA . Prior to the BLM ’s purchase, the ranch changed ownership multiple times throughout its history. The ranch was originally built and owned by silent film stars Rex Bell and Clara Bow. In 1951, Karl Weikel purchased the property and renamed it the YKL Ranch. In 1989, the ranch was purchased by the Viceroy Gold Corporation. Ownership of the ranched changed several more times from the mid-1990s until the BLM purchased the property in 2005.

From its foundation through the 1980s, the Walking Box Ranch was operated primarily as a cattle ranch. The Viceroy Gold Corporation used the ranch for access, but also restored the historic ranch house and used it as an executive retreat. The ranch site, as well as the adjacent 120-acre parcel, is within the BLM ’s Piute-Eldorado Valley CHU and ACEC , which is managed for desert tortoise habitat protection and prohibits cattle ranching.

While the ranch parcels (both the 40 and 120-acre) are exempt from the ACEC and its habitat conservation measures, desert tortoise habitat is protected on both parcels by two conservation easements held by TNC . The conservation easements covering the analysis area are described in Section 3.5.1, “Management Considerations”.

Although the ranch site is located in a relatively remote area, the potential for large-scale land use changes is emerging in the surrounding area. Among these is urbanization extending from the Las Vegas Valley down the I-15 corridor, which is stimulated in part by the proposed Ivanpah Airport, a planned airport located approximately 20 miles west of the ranch site. The new airport is planned as a reliever airport for McCarron and is anticipated to open in approximately 10 years.

Another major land use trend is the increasing interest in renewable energy development, including a large-scale wind farm near Searchlight, which would generate 370 mw of power using as many as 160 turbines that would be visible at great distances due to their height of over 400 feet. Solar energy production is also anticipated, with several proposed projects in southern Nevada already announced as well as the existing Solar One project south of Boulder City.