NCA compared to Wilderness

Bureau of Land Management
		BLACK ROCK DESERT-HIGH ROCK CANYON
		EMIGRANT TRAILS NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA
Home	Background	Land Use Planning	Resource Management Plan

What is the difference between
National Conservation Areas (NCAs)
and Wilderness Areas?

The difference between an NCA and Wilderness is found in the laws that determine how they are managed. Wilderness areas are administered under authority of the Wilderness Act of 1964, and the key difference in on-the-ground management between a Wilderness and an NCA is how access is controlled. The Wilderness Act emphasizes management for wilderness values such as solitude and preservation, and therefore restricts motorized vehicle access.

Each NCA is administered under authority of the specific act that created it. In the portions of the Black Rock Desert – High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails NCA that are not also designated as Wilderness areas, mechanized travel and use of other mechanized equipment may be regulated by BLM in a manner consistent with the spirit and intent of the Act, but they are not specifically restricted by the Act. The RMP completed in 2004 restricts OHV travel to about 800 miles designated roads and trails. The playa of the Black Rock Desert remains open to OHV use.

There are approximately 752,000 acres in the Wilderness areas within or near the Black Rock Desert – High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails NCA, and, of that amount, about 380,000 acres are included in the NCA itself. The NCA, including the Wilderness areas it contains, constitutes approximately 815,000 acres. In total, there are 1.2 million acres contained in the NCA and associated Wilderness areas.

Click here for a summary of allowable and non-allowable activities permitted in the Wilderness areas and in the NCA.

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