The BLM manages approximately 3.3 million acres of public lands in southern Nevada. These lands are managed under the Las Vegas District Resource Management Plan (LVRMP) (BLM 1998). The ranch property is not specifically addressed in the LVRMP , since the plan pre-dates the BLM ’s acquisition of the Walking Box Ranch. However, the ranch is surrounded by the Piute-Eldorado Valley ACEC , which is managed by the BLM for protection of important habitat for the desert tortoise.
In addition to the BLM , land uses and management of the analysis area are also predicated on a conservation easement held by TNC , which dates to 1994 and therefore was in place at the time of BLM ’s purchase of the land. Acquired in 1994 by TNC , the purpose of the conservation easement on the 40-acre headquarters parcel (i.e., analysis area) is “to preserve and protect in perpetuity the natural, historic, scenic and open space features and values” of the ranch (TNC 1994). The conservation easement imposes specific development restrictions on the analysis area, including:
Parcel cannot be divided or subdivided;
Mining exploration and extraction, including quarrying and sand/gravel removal, are prohibited;
Geothermal exploration and development are prohibited;
Industrial and commercial activities are prohibited, except historic agricultural practices (e.g., crops, grazing, etc.); and
Parcel may not be used for public utility purposes (except as needed for the buildings within the analysis area).
Despite these development prohibitions, the conservation easement allows the construction of a BLM interpretive center within the analysis area. The inclusion of a potential interpretive center at Walking Box Ranch in the conservation easement evolved out of a proposal in the Castle Mountain mine expansion project (as described in the Castle Mountain EIS /Environmental Impact Report, 1990). The adjacent 120-acre parcel is also protected by a TNC conservation easement. The primary purpose of this easement is desert tortoise habitat protection, and the restrictions and prohibitions on potential uses are much more stringent.
In 2006, the BLM and UNLV signed a cooperative management agreement for the analysis area. Under the terms of the agreement, the Walking Box Ranch headquarters area (i.e., analysis area) will be made available to the public for education and interpretive purposes. All land use activities associated with the BLM / UNLV partnership in the analysis area will be compliant with the terms of the TNC conservation easements.