Special Place: High Rock Canyon / Poodle Mountain

April 23, 2010

Nearly 1,300 acres of prime wildlife habitat have been protected by the Nevada Land Conservancy and the Bureau of Land Management in the Little High Rock Canyon, Poodle Mountain and Hardin City areas, within and nearby the Black Rock Desert National Conservation Area. This resource-rich area is another important acquisition made under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) program. Nevada Land Conservancy has been responsible for the purchase of more than 34,000 acres of land through the SNPLMA program since 2002.

The Nevada Land Conservancy nominated this 1,282-acre project in 2007, during Round 8 of SNPLMA, and assisted BLM from the beginning to successfully complete the acquisition.

"The public benefits include protection of significant historic and archaeological sites near Hardin City," said Craig Schriber, Board Chair of Nevada Land Conservancy, "and protection of access to Double Hot Springs and the wet meadows surrounding Hardin City Hot Springs." Nevada Land Conservancy, an independent nonprofit land trust organization, was founded in 1998 to protect critical open space, wildlife habitat, water resources, working landscapes, and recreational access for the public.

"Good things come in small packages", said Alicia Reban, President of the Nevada Land Conservancy.  "One of the gems inside this package is property in the Little High Rock Canyon Wilderness. Several hundred acres of land and water in the Little High Rock Creek are now owned by BLM for the benefit of the public. To protect the land is wonderful -- to keep the water with the land is divine," Reban added.

The Black Rock Desert High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (NCA) is managed by the Bureau of Land Management to conserve, protect and enhance the resources, values and uses for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans. Acquisition of these lands improves the BLM's ability to protect important wildlife resources, as well as cultural, paleontological, and historic values.

One of the primary reasons for designation of the NCA is to protect the landscapes surrounding the Emigrant Trail as stated in the NCA Act: "The relative absence of development in the Black Rock Desert and High Rock Canyon areas from emigrant times to the present day offers a unique opportunity to capture the terrain, sights and conditions of the overland trails as they were experienced by the emigrants and to make available to both present and future generations of Americans the opportunity of experiencing emigrant conditions in an unaltered setting."

The NCA draws visitors to the area and helps support the economies of surrounding gateway communities. Hunting, camping, photography, and viewing wild horses and wildlife are among the many recreational enjoyments offered in this area.