Prior to the area's designation as a national monument, Gold Butte suffered "an increasing level of damage near historic and cultural sites"; an August 2016 report by Friends of Gold Butte reported "dismantled historic corrals and fences, felled Joshua trees and petroglyphs peppered with bullet holes."[4]
As stated in the presidential proclamation creating the monument, the area remains open for recreation, including hiking, hunting, horseback riding, camping, picnicking, off-highway driving and bicycling on designated roads and trails, sightseeing, the gathering of minerals and other materials important to native peoples who have lived on this lands for thousands of years, and other recreational uses. The area is now closed to industrial development, ensuring that the land is available for recreation.[5] In 1998, Clark County bought out the area's grazing permits and retired them;[6] no new permits will be issued.[7] The monument will permit development and maintenance of existing water rights and transportation infrastructure, but prohibits future claims.[7]
Two wilderness areas are located within the monument: Lime Canyon and Jumbo Springs. The monument also includes two areas managed like wilderness: the Million Hills Wilderness Study Area and the Virgin Peak Instant Study Area.
