Minerals

Congress has enacted a series of legislation that has defined minerals into three general categories; locatable minerals, leasable minerals, and salable minerals. The surface management requirements and mining regulations vary according to each mineral group.

Locatable Minerals include metallic and most industrial minerals and may be staked as mining claims. The BLM in Nevada administers about 185,000 mining claims, accounting for almost 48 percent of all claims operating on public lands in the United States.

Leasable Minerals require a lease to mine and consist of sodium, potassium, and phosphate. However, under certain conditions sand, gravel, and locatable minerals may be mined from leases on public, acquired, and Indian lands, along with National Recreation Areas.

Salable Minerals are acquired through contracts and permits, which are handled through the BLM Field Office where the minerals are located. Common varieties of sand, stone, gravel, pumice, pumicite, cinders, clay, and petrified wood are considered salable minerals.

With the long history of mining in the west, there are an estimated 300,000 abandoned mining land features that were erected prior to current environmental protection legislation. With about 50,000 of the sites posing a public risk, the BLM has embarked on the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) reclamation program with the cooperation of other federal, state, and private agencies to remediate the environmental and physical hazards.

Follow this link to access many of the Mining Forms required by the BLM.

Oil & Gas

The BLM has responsibility for managing Oil & Gas Leases on about 570 million acres of public lands, as well as private land in which the Federal Government has retained the mineral rights. The BLM makes lands available for leasing only after the lands have been evaluated through the multiple-use planning process. The link will take you to more detailed information about how to obtain a lease, lease requirements, and the types of leases available.

Follow this link to access many of the Oil & Gas Lease forms required by the BLM.

Geothermal

The first geothermal lease sales offered by the BLM under the new geothermal regulations published in the Federal Register on May 2, 2007 generated $29.1 million in revenue. The BLM leases lands it manages, along with other Federal land for Geothermal Development and Exploration. The BLM supervises the operation of the leases, which are primarily in the western states.

In a cooperative effort the US Forest Service and the BLM are preparing a joint Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for geothermal leasing in the Western United States. For more information about the program visit the PEIS Website.

Follow this link to access many of the Geothermal Lease forms required by the BLM.

LR2000 Land Patents Nevada's Land Records

The LR2000 website was primarily designed for those who work in the oil, gas, and mining industries, title companies, utilities, state and local governments, along with others having interests that require access to BLM land and mineral records. On this site you will gain access to case recordation, legal land descriptions, mining claim recordation, the status of mining claims, oil and gas leases, geothermal leases, deeds, land patent status, along with other land use documents.

Follow this link for an Introduction to the LR2000 System. Reading the introduction will assist you in the selection of the various query parameters required for a given report. Another avenue for assistance with using the LR2000 System is a Pictorial Guide developed in the BLM Nevada State Office information access center/public room. This guide includes page-by-page snapshots of a variety of queries to assist you with navigating the LR2000 system.

The Federal Land Patent Records (Glorecords) site is the primary on-line source of information on the initial transfer of land titles from the Federal government to individuals and other entities. Title records begin with the eastern States in 1810 and continue through the westward expansion up to 1964. Land patents issued after 1964 are not yet available on-line and need to be researched at the BLM State Office in the state where the land is located. The site also contains information that will allow you to associate a patentee, assignee, warrantee, widow, or heir with a specific location (Legal Land Description) and issue date.

Many Nevada patent searches begin on the Nevada Land Records site. In addition to title records, survey plats, entry surveys, mineral surveys, mineral connecting sheets, townsite surveys, along with other land description documentation. Many of the survey field notes are available on-line, with notes being added as the Cadastral Survey program is completed. If the information you are seeking is not available, contact the staff of BLM Nevada State Office Public Room for assistance.

An invaluable tool in researching land, and land use is the BLM GeoCommunicator interactive map viewer. On this site, a wide variety of reference maps including surface management, imagery, agency boundaries, topographical, and others are available. For quick reference the Geocommunicator site is also linked to LR2000 for finding serial register pages without having to navigate between sites.

For information on using the Geocommunicator visit the Geocommunicator Guide or go to the Geocommunicator site and select Land and Mineral use Records.

Wild Horse & Burro

As a caretaker of public land and its resources, one of the missions of the BLM is to administer the Wild Horse and Burro Program. In December 1971 the wild horses and burros were declared “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the west”. Nevada manages about 16,000 wild horses and 1,000 burros in 102 herd management areas covering about 16 million acres.

The BLM manages the “living legends” to ensure a healthy and diverse population, as well as protecting the rangeland over which they roam. Offering a number of wild horses and burros for adoption each year helps maintain a population the range can adequately support.

There are numerous, rewarding volunteer opportunities available in the Wild Horse and Burro program. If you are in interested in becoming a volunteer, visit the Volunteering in the Wild Horse and Burro Program website.

Recreation

Public lands managed by the BLM offer more diverse recreational opportunities than any other federal agency. With more than 47 million acres of public land, Nevada is among the top western states in the number of recreational visits, acres managed, and special recreation permits issued. Visitors can enjoy the rugged beauty and challenges of extreme backcountry recreation, or enjoy a more urban environment near the Reno and Las Vegas areas.

With the diverse landscape of public lands in Nevada available for Recreation, there is something for everyone. Outdoor enthusiasts can ride off-highway vehicles, camp, hike, bike, go horseback riding, hunt, fish, visit historic and cultural sites; discover the abundance of other recreational activities, or simply enjoy the scenic beauty of Nevada’s public lands.

To further enhance visitor recreational opportunities, the BLM in Nevada manages three National Conservation Areas, and seven campgrounds. Visitors can enjoy the towering red vistas of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, walk in the footsteps of the westward expansion pioneers at the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, or visit the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area and view some 300 Native American art panels.

Recreation on public lands also benefits the economies of communities adjacent to those lands. In 2007 more than 6 million people recreated on public lands in Nevada. With such a large number of recreational visitors and the multiple uses of public lands, management of those lands is a continual, evolving challenge. To better meet those challenges the BLM is always trying to educate visitors concerning safety, Stewardship, and Outdoor Ethics. To further enhance education efforts the BLM has partnered with the non-profit organizations Leave No Trace Center For Outdoor Ethics and Tread Lightly.

While access to public land remains free, fees generated under the new America the Beautiful Pass Program will benefit public lands by generating funds for amenities such as maintenance, new visitor services and programs at federal recreation sites. One hundred percent of the revenue derived from the passes sold will directly benefit the selling agency and no less than 80 percent of the revenues will remain at the site where the pass was sold.

Fire

The BLM is a leader in the nation’s wildland Fire Management efforts. To meet the diverse array of challenges in wildland fire management, the BLM utilizes highly trained professional firefighters and managers.
Reducing the risk and consequence of wildland fire is of prime importance in fire management efforts; however safety and suppression operations remain at the core of the fire program.

To check on statewide Fire Restrictions, follow this link.

Land Sales

Land deemed to be better suited for private ownership rather than public management can be offered for sale by the BLM, but there are no regular intervals for public Land Sales. Land identified for potential disposal must have been identified in an approved land use plan that was in effect on or before July 25, 2000. For information about potential sales, contact the local BLM Nevada Field Office holding jurisdiction over the sale.

Forestry

A variety of Forestry permits may be available at Nevada BLM District or Field Offices. The permits are sold under a variety of fee schedules and the regulations covering the permit will differ by area and forestry product.

Campfire permits are required year-round by the US Forest Service in Nevada and California. To assist outdoor recreation enthusiasts with obtaining a permit at no charge, a permit can be acquired at any BLM or Forest Service Office in Nevada and California. Once a campfire permit has been obtained, it is still recommended that local and state-wide fire restrictions be checked before building a fire.