
Following Push By Local Friends Grassroots Network Partners Administration Acts to Protect the Amargosa Valley in Nevada
Washington, D.C. — Today, President Joe Biden announced steps to protect Southern Nevada’s Amargosa Valley, the heart of the Amargosa River watershed and a gateway to Death Valley National Park.
This action by the President is in response to requests from Tribes, the local community, and our Friends Grassroots Network partners, the Amargosa Conservancy and Indigenous Voices Nevada, who have been fighting irresponsible development in the area threatening groundwater supplies.
The Department of the Interior is initiating consideration of a 20-year withdrawal of the Amargosa Valley area from all extractive uses, subject to valid existing rights. The Bureau of Land Management submitted a withdrawal petition and application to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. The approval of the petition and publication in the Federal Register initiates a two-year segregation that will prohibit new mining claims and the issuance of new federal mineral leases on approximately 308,890 acres in the Amargosa Valley area.
The Federal Register notice, published today, initiates a 90-day public comment period on the proposed withdrawal. The Bureau of Land Management will prepare an environmental analysis and establish a public process to inform whether the lands should be withdrawn for a period of up to 20 years.
Below is a statement from Chris Hill, Chief Executive Officer of the Conservation Lands Foundation, in response to:
“We applaud President Biden for initiating this important step towards protecting critical habitat and water supply in Nevada’s Amargosa Valley, and thank Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen for championing and elevating this effort. We also applaud the BLM for listening to Nevadans and taking action to protect this sensitive arid desert landscape, and look forward to participating in the public process alongside our Friends Grassroots Network partners. The groundwater in Nevada's Amargosa Valley sustains the largest oasis remaining in the Mojave Desert home to 26 endemic species, including the critically endangered Devils Hole pupfish, making enhanced protections for this landscape warranted and needed.”
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Conservation Lands Foundation published this page in Latest News 2025-01-14 11:50:11 -0700