Landscapes of the American Spirit
The Bureau of Land Management’s National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) contains some of the West’s most spectacular landscapes. It includes over 887 federally recognized areas and approximately 27 million acres of National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Wilderness Areas, Wilderness Study Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Scenic and Historic Trails, and Conservation Lands of the California Desert.
The NLCS is uniquely diverse. It encompasses red-rock deserts and rugged ocean coastlines, deep river canyons and broad Alaskan tundra. Many areas are remote and wild but others are surprisingly accessible. The NLCS also reveals and protects our cultural legacy. It safeguards American Indian cliff dwellings and cultural sites, and preserves the remaining traces of our Nation’s historic trails and pathways. The mission of the National Landscape Conservation System is to conserve, protect, and restore these nationally significant landscapes that are recognized for their outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values.
The NLCS works to conserve the essential fabric of the West. NLCS areas are part of an active, vibrant landscape where people live, work and play. They offer exceptional opportunities for recreation, solitude, wildlife viewing, exploring history, scientific research, and a wide range of traditional uses.
These are places that spark the imagination. Their spacious beauty has drawn people to the West for generations. The NLCS sustains for the future - and for everyone - these remarkable landscapes of the American spirit.
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