57,728 acres now protected in Nevada’s Sloan Canyon desert

The protected desert surrounding Sloan Canyon south of Las Vegas just got larger. A federal law approved May 19 expands the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada from 48,438 acres to 57,728 acres, adding thousands of acres of public land to the protected landscape.

The measure, called the Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Pipeline Act, updates the official boundary map for the conservation area. Management of the land stays with the Bureau of Land Management inside the Interior Department, using the same conservation framework already in place.

Conservation land and a water corridor

Public Law 119–91 also directs the Interior Department to grant the Southern Nevada Water Authority a right‑of‑way for a project known as the Horizon Lateral Pipeline. Within a year of the law’s enactment, federal officials must approve a corridor so the authority can carry out geotechnical testing and build water‑transmission infrastructure tied to the region’s supply system.

The right‑of‑way comes without federal rent or charges, though the Interior Department may attach conditions designed to protect the conservation area. The pipeline route cannot cross designated wilderness areas and cannot permanently damage the landscape’s surface resources.

Existing utility and transportation corridors inside the conservation area remain valid. The boundary expansion does not cancel those rights or prevent maintenance or upgrades, as long as projects still comply with federal environmental review and other applicable laws.