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13-548: The monument is a unit of the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System . Over 450 distinct Native American structures have been recorded in the monument, some of large pueblos containing more than 100 rooms each. The enhanced protection status also provides greater habitat protection for the numerous plant and animal communities. Petroglyphs are scattered across the numerous puebloan ruins, which were built between 1250 and 1450 C.E. when several thousand Native Americans, known as

26-414: A National Monument, three National Conservation Areas, Wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers and National Scenic Trails. As of 2012, there were 29 sites totaling 11,394,457 acres (4,611,173 ha) 17 sites totaling 3,708,472 acres (1,500,765 ha) 221 sites totaling 8,736,691 acres (3,535,613 ha); excludes wilderness associated with other agencies There are 545 wilderness study areas with

39-407: A total area of 12,790,291 acres (5,176,047 ha). 11 sites totaling 5,343 miles (8,599 km) Distances and states are noted for BLM lands only. 5 units totaling 668 miles (1,075 km) Distances and states are noted for BLM lands only. 38 sites, totaling 2,061 miles (3,317 km) Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 Too Many Requests If you report this error to

52-549: The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 . The Act permanently unified the individual units as a public lands System, protecting the System in law so that it would no longer exist at the pleasure of each president. This marked the first new congressionally authorized public lands system in decades. The act also added 1,200,000 acres (490,000 ha) of new designations to the System, including

65-596: The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Over the years, the Bureau of Land Management has had to adjust its approach to public land management to fit the changing needs of the nation. The BLM historically has managed lands under its jurisdiction for extractive uses, such as mining, logging, grazing, and oil and gas production. In 1983, Congress acknowledged the value of watersheds, wildlife habitat, recreation, scenery, scientific exploration and other non-extractive uses with

78-567: The pronghorn , mule deer , white-tail deer and javelina are relatively common. The elk , black bears and mountain lions are also found in the monument, but are much less common. Native fish including the longfin dace, the Gila mountain sucker, speckled dace, and three endangered native fish including the Gila intermedia , charalito , and desert pupfish exist in the 129-mile (208 km)-long Agua Fria River and its tributaries. In late 2004,

91-774: The BLM and the Sierra Club helped spark the formation of the Friends of the Agua Fria National Monument, a non-profit organization created to assist the federal agency in monument protection, management, and outreach. National Landscape Conservation System National Conservation Lands , formally known as the National Landscape Conservation System , is a 35-million-acre (140,000 km ) collection of lands in 873 federally recognized areas considered to be

104-535: The Perry Mesa Tradition, inhabited the region. The petroglyphs depict animals, geometric figures and abstract symbols and are found by the thousands. Numerous ruins of agricultural terraces and irrigation devices indicate that farming was widespread during this period. Other historical entities that are found include 19th century mining features and Basque sheep camps. Situated between 2,150 feet (660 m) and 4,600 feet (1,400 m) in elevation,

117-580: The agency looks at the land it manages: the protection of special areas where conservation and restoration of the landscape and its biological or cultural resources is the overriding objective. The Bureau of Land Management's National Landscape Conservation System, better known as the National Conservation Lands, was created in 2000 with the mission to "conserve, protect, and restore these nationally significant landscapes that have outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values for

130-612: The benefit of current and future generations." There are eleven federal conservation designations for the units that make up the National Conservation Lands: When the Conservation System was created in 2000 without Congressional authorization, there was no guarantee that the System would be permanent. The National Landscape Conservation System Act was signed into law in March 2009 as part of

143-599: The crown jewels of the American West . These lands represent 10% of the 258 million acres (1,040,000 km ) managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM is the largest federal public land manager and is responsible for over 40% of all the federal public land in the nation. The other major federal public land managers include the US Forest Service (USFS), National Park Service (NPS), and

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156-736: The designation of the first BLM-managed wilderness area—the Bear Trap Canyon unit of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness in Montana . In 1996, President Clinton underscored non-extractive priorities on BLM lands when he established the first national monument to be administered by the BLM—the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. With this and several similar designations, a new focus emerged that would become part of how

169-472: The monument is primarily composed of semi-desert grassland but also contains extensive riparian stands of cottonwoods and willows which are tied to the Agua Fria River. More than 140 bird species have been recorded at the monument. Notable species of reptiles and amphibians , including the leopard frog , the garter snake , and the desert tortoise , can be seen at the monument. Mammals such as

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