16 U.S.C. § 460www — Red Cliffs National Conservation Area

(a) Purposes: This section has two goals. First, to conserve, protect, and enhance — for people now and in the future — the ecological, scenic, wildlife, recreational, cultural, historical, natural, educational, and scientific resources of the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. Second, to protect any species in the Conservation Area that is listed as threatened or endangered under section 1533(c)(1) of this title. (b) Definitions: This section defines five terms. "Habitat conservation plan" means the "Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan," dated February 23, 1996. "Management plan" means the plan the Secretary of the Interior must create under subsection (d)(1). "National Conservation Area" means the roughly 44,725 acres of public land in the county, shown on the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area Map, that is established by subsection (c). "Public use plan" means the "Red Cliffs Desert Reserve Public Use Plan," dated June 12, 2000, as it has been amended. "Resource management plan" means the "St. George Field Office Resource Management Plan," dated March 15, 1999, as amended. (c) Establishment: Subject to any valid existing rights, this section creates the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in the state. (d) Management plan: (1) Within three years after March 30, 2009, the Secretary must create a full plan for managing the Conservation Area long-term. (2) While writing that plan, the Secretary must consult with the right state, tribal, and local government bodies, and with members of the public. (3) As long as it fits with this section, the Secretary may build the management plan around the habitat conservation plan, the resource management plan, and the public use plan. (e) Management: (1) The Secretary must manage the Conservation Area in a way that conserves, protects, and enhances its resources, following the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, this section, and any other applicable law. (2) The Secretary may only allow uses that further the purposes listed in subsection (a). (3) Motorized vehicles may only travel on roads the management plan designates for them — except when they're needed for administration or emergencies. (4) Livestock grazing that was already happening before March 30, 2009 may keep going, subject to reasonable rules the Secretary sets and to other applicable law, as long as it stays consistent with the purposes in subsection (a). (5) This section doesn't stop the Secretary from working with other federal, state, and local agencies to fight wildfires in the Conservation Area. (f) Incorporation of acquired land: Any land inside the Conservation Area that the United States acquires automatically becomes part of the Conservation Area. It must be managed under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, this section, and other applicable law. (g) Withdrawal: (1) Subject to valid existing rights, all federal land in the Conservation Area is off-limits to: (A) entry, claims, and disposal under public land laws; (B) staking new mining claims; and (C) new mineral, mineral-materials, and geothermal leases. (2) If the Secretary acquires more land for the Conservation Area after March 30, 2009, that land becomes off-limits the same way, starting on the day it's acquired. (h) Effect: This section doesn't block utility development within the Conservation Area, as long as the development follows the utility rules in the habitat conservation plan and any other applicable law.