There is a continuous comparison of Sloan Canyon Management Plan to the future management of the proposed Gold Butte National Conservation Area. Here are some facts to consider. A bit of research on NCA management across the west will prove that Sloan Canyon NCA management plan would not suit a large rural NCA.
First, National Conservation Area is a federal designation for special landscapes managed by the Bureau of Land Management and will be supervised under the National Landscape Conservation System. The designation requires federal land managers to complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) through the NEPA process. This process takes approximately 2-3 years and involves extensive public participation.
Sloan Canyon NCA has little in common with the proposed Gold Butte National Conservation Area other than designation and BLM field office. Sloan Canyon NCA is 48,438 acres including 14,763 acre North McCullough Wilderness. It is surrounded by the City of Henderson and its 270,000 residents and the swelling population of Las Vegas. Yes, in 2006 the BLM issued an Emergency Closure to OHV, camping and shooting for safety and residential area conflicts.
The proposed Gold Butte NCA is 300,000 acres larger than the Sloan Canyon NCA. The largest community in the vicinity is 18,000. A lengthy transportation planning process was just completed, designating 500 miles of open routes. The proposed Wilderness does not close any designated routes.
There are several National Conservation Areas and Monuments across the west that recently have completed the EIS or Resource Management Planning process. If you are interested in how larger rural National Conservation Areas are managed a bit of research on NCA’s such as the Black Rock High Rock NCA in northern Nevada or the Morley Nelson Birds of Prey NCA, Idaho would be a more reasonable comparison. Arizona BLM website has a few good examples too.