Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) is a conservation ecology

Conservation biology

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...

 program in the western United States

Western United States

.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...

, managed by the Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...

. The ACEC program was conceived in the 1976 Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), which established the first conservation ecology mandate for the BLM. The FLPMA mandate directs the BLM to protect important riparian corridors, threatened and endangered species habitat

Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...

s, cultural and archeological resources and unique scenic landscapes that the agency assesses as in need of special management attention.

Criteria

To be considered a potential ACEC an area must meet criteria of both relevance and importance.

Relevance

An area meets the relevance criteria of an ACEC if it contains one or more of the following:

• A significant historic, cultural, or scenic value.
• A fish or wildlife resource.
• A natural process or system (including but not limited to areas supporting rare, endemic, relict, or endangered plant species, or rare geological features)
• Natural hazards (areas of avalanche, unstable soils, rockfall, etc.)

Importance

An area meets the importance criteria if it is characterized by one or more of the following:

• Has more than locally significant qualities.
• Has qualities or circumstances that make it fragile, sensitive, irreplaceable, rare, unique, etc.
• Has been recognized as warranting protection to satisfy national priority concerns or to carry out the mandates of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.
• Has qualities which warrant concern about safety and public welfare.
• Poses a significant threat to human life and safety, or to property.

California

• Jawbone-Butterbredt Area of Critical Environmental Concern
  Jawbone-Butterbredt Area of Critical Environmental Concern
  The Jawbone-Butterbredt Area of Critical Environmental Concern , is located in the Mojave Desert and Southern Sierra Nevada, northwest of California City and California State Route 14, in Kern County, California....
  
  
• The Red Hills of Tuolumne County
  Red Hills (Tuolumne County)
  The Red Hills are a mountain range in Tuolumne County, California.Elevations within the Red Hills vary between 750 and 1,750 feet above sea level. Slopes of the hills themselves vary from about 30% to 75%.-Red Hills Area of Critical Environmental Concern:...
  
  

Colorado

• Duck Creek (3430 acres)
• Dudley Bluffs (1630 acres)
• East Fork Parachute Creek (6566 acres)
• Northwater Creek (1962 acres)
• Ryan Gulch (1440 acres)
• Trapper/Northwater Creek (4810 acres)

New Mexico

• La Cienega
  La Cienega, New Mexico
  La Cienega is a census-designated place in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area...
  
  
• Simon Canyon

Utah

• Copper Globe (historic, 128 acre (0.51799808 km²), Vernal office)
• Dark Canyon (59,755 acres, Monticello office)
• I-70 Scenic ACEC (scenic, 45463 acres (184 km²), Price office)
• Lears Canyon (habitat, 1378 acres (5.6 km²), Vernal office)
• Lower Green River (scenic, habitat, 9430 acres (38.2 km²), Vernal office)
• Nine Mile Canyon (scenic, cultural, 48151 acres (194.9 km²), Vernal office)
• Pariette Wetlands (habitat, 10635 acres (43 km²), Vernal office)
• San Rafael Canyon (scenic, 54102 acres (218.9 km²), Price office)
• San Rafael Reef (scenic, 84018 acres (340 km²), Price office)
• Scenic Highway Corridor (scenic, 13554 acres (54.9 km²), Monticello office)
• Sid’s Mountain (scenic, 61380 acres (248.4 km²), Price office)
• Temple Mountain (historic, 2444 acres (9.9 km²), Price office)

Wyoming

• Greater Red Creek (175240 acres)
• Greater Sand Dunes (41644 acres)
• Pine Springs (6055 acres)
• Special Status Plant Species (1009 acres)
• White Mountain Petroglyphs (21.7 acres)

External links

• Massachusetts state ACES program