Subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary, through the Bureau of Land Management, shall administer the Steese National Conservation Area established in section 460mm of this title pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 [43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.] dealing with the management and use of land in Federal ownership, and shall, within five years of Dec. 2, 1980, develop a land use plan for each such area, and for the area established in section 460mm–2 of this title.

No public lands within the national conservation area shall be transferred out of Federal ownership except by exchange pursuant to section 206 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act [43 U.S.C. 1716]. Where consistent with the land use plans for the area, mineral development may be permitted pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and supplemented (30 U.S.C. 181–287) or the Materials Act of 1947, as amended (30 U.S.C. 601–603). Subject to valid existing rights, the minerals in Federal lands within national conservation areas are hereby withdrawn from location, entry, and patent under the United States mining laws (30 U.S.C. 22–54). Where consistent with the land use plan for the area, the Secretary may classify lands within national conservation areas as suitable for locatable mineral exploration and development and open such lands to entry, location, and patent under the United States mining laws (30 U.S.C. 22–54).

Subject to valid existing rights, all mining claims located within any such unit shall be subject to such reasonable regulations as the Secretary may prescribe to assure that mining will, to the maximum extent practicable, be consistent with protection of the scenic, scientific, cultural, and other resources of the area and any patent issued after December 2, 1980, shall convey title only to the minerals together with the right to use the surface of lands for mining purposes subject to such reasonable regulations as the Secretary may prescribe as aforesaid.

(Pub. L. 96–487, title IV, § 402, Dec. 2, 1980, 94 Stat. 2396.)