The Biden Administration has announced steps to help protect the Ruby Mountain area in Elko County.

The Department of the Interior says it is considering a 20-year withdrawal from eligibility for oil and gas leasing, subject to valid existing rights.  

The new proposed rule, which now goes to a 30-day comment period, would formally withdraw approximately 309,000 acres of National Forest System district land.

The land is home to the Te-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada and includes the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The recreation area also offers opportunities for hunting, fishing and birdwatchers. 

The lands would remain open under U.S. mining laws, and subject to mineral material disposal under the Materials Act of 1947. 

The move comes three weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to ramp up oil and gas production and move away from Biden’s focus on climate change.

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(Department of the Interior and office of Senator Catherine Cortez Masto contributed to this report.)