Nevada · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Buffalo Creek Canyons
BLM found a cultural value, a scenic value and a historic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place no claim, lease or right of way inside the line today, and three grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 35,663 acres in Nevada, managed by BLM's California office, and was designated April 17, 2008, in the Eagle Lake.
One of the 1,120 places the Bureau of Land Management has designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This page shows its line, what BLM found there and what sits inside it.
The line
Ground: USGS The National Map, topographic tiles. Boundaries: BLM's own, read Oct 20, 2026. The 3 grazing allotments below aren't marked.Grazing allotments
3 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- BUFFALO HILLS483,751acres
- Twin Peaks407,079acres
- Tuledad164,020acres
The nearest areas
- Lower Smoke CreekCalifornia · 894 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it17miles
- Pine DunesCalifornia · 2,861 acres · 1 right of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it20miles
- North Dry ValleyCalifornia · 10,265 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it29miles
- Mountain PeaksCalifornia · 3,800 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it37miles
- Willow CreekCalifornia · 2,143 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it41miles
More from BLM's California office
Every area BLM's California office holdsThe proposed rule
A proposed rule, RIN 1004-AF53, would change how BLM drafts every land use plan, and how it designates ACECs like Buffalo Creek Canyons. The comment window hasn't opened: the proposed rule wasn't in the Federal Register at our last check. The Watch sends one email the day it prints.
The rule's abstract
The purpose of this rulemaking is to establish in regulations an updated process for the approval of the development, revision, amendment, and maintenance of land use plans, as provided for by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Additionally, this rulemaking will provide clarification of the process the BLM uses for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1004-AF53, Publication ID 2026, reginfo.gov (OMB OIRA), read Oct 18, 2026