And there goes several more mountain ranges and intervening valleys of the Basin and Range locked up. Protecting the sweeping vistas of the Basin and Range in one sweeping stroke of a pen.

Here is a map:

http://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm...

Note how many Wilderness Areas there already are surrounding the huge area they are taking. They describe the area as the transition zone between the lower Mojave Desert and the Northern Sage Brush "ecosystems". Recall they are currently locking up huge tracts of land in the name of the sage grouse to the north. To the south they have locked down huge areas from human activity using the Desert Tortoise.