The Bureau of Land Management petitioned the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management (Assistant Secretary) to withdraw over 1.3 million acres in the California Desert National Conservation Lands from mining claim location and open to mineral entry under the US mining laws for a 20 year period.  The purpose of the withdrawal proposal is to shield the designated conservation public lands from mining to protect nationally significant landscapes with outstanding cultural, biological, and scientific values. 

The withdrawal proposal contains designated lands in Inyo, San Bernardino, Imperial, Riverside, and Kern counties.  The Assistant Secretary approved the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) petition.   

The notice in the Federal Register temporarily segregates the lands from location and entry for a period of up to two years and provides the public the opportunity to comment on the proposed withdrawal.  The notice also initiates the process for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).  Dates and locations of public meetings regarding the withdrawal proposal and scoping meetings for the EIS will be announced at least 30 days in advance of the meetings. Comments on the withdrawal proposal and EIS must be received by March 28, 2017.  A 1.6 million acres of California Desert National Conservation Lands may be considered in a phase 2 withdrawal proposal. 

Detailed information can be accessed here.