Gold Butte
• The Gold Butte National Monument (GBNM) was established by Presidential Proclamation No. 9559 on December 28, 2016, and consists of 296,937 acres managed by BLM and the Bureau of Reclamation in Clark County, Nevada.
• The resources identified in the Proclamation include the biologic, archaeologic, and areas of spiritual significance to American Indian tribes.
• There have been multiple legislative attempts to designate this area under protective land designations, beginning in 2008 and concluding in 2015, which were unsuccessful.
• Lands within GBNM are managed with some level of a protective designation, either under the existing land-use plan or as designated Wilderness (28,787 acres) or Wilderness Study Areas (28,454 acres). The GBNM is also overlapped by Areas of Critical Environmental Concern designated by BLM.
• The local water district has historic water rights for six springs and provides water for the City of Mesquite. Five of the six water district springs are located within the boundaries of GBNM.
• The GBNM Proclamation inaccurately states that livestock has not been permitted in the GBNM area since 1998 and therefore prevents issuing any new grazing permits or leases. In fact, there are four active grazing allotments administered by the Arizona Strip District, either fully or partially contained within GBNM, which have been authorized since 1998.
Recommendations:
• The Proclamation should be amended, through the use of appropriate authority, including lawful exercise of your discretion granted by the Act, to ensure compliance with the provisions and intent of the Act while also prioritizing public access; infrastructure upgrades, repair, and maintenance; traditional use; tribal cultural use; and hunting and fishing rights. The proclamation should also be amended to address inaccuracies related to active grazing allotments.
• The boundary should be revised through the use of appropriate authority, including lawful exercise of your discretion granted by the Act, to ensure that the monument reservation is limited to the smallest area compatible with the protection of the objects identified and protect historic water rights.
• You should request congressional authority to enable tribal co-management of designated cultural areas within the revised GBNM boundaries.
• The management plan should be developed to protect objects and prioritize public access; infrastructure upgrades, repair, and maintenance; traditional use; tribal cultural use; and hunting and fishing rights.
• The DOI should work with Congress to secure funding for adequate infrastructure and management needs to protect objects effectively.
