The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 is a compilation of a giant package of 164 separate bills. It establishes 10 new National Heritage Sites, national trails, 21 new wilderness areas and expands several national park boundaries. It also provides the highest level of government protection from logging and commercial development.

"This legislation guarantees that we will not take our forests, rivers, oceans, national parks, monuments, and wilderness areas for granted, but rather we will set them aside and guard their sanctity for everyone to share," Obama said while signing the Act.

The act protects thousands of kilometers of rivers with 86 new Wild and Scenic Rivers and provides legal status for the National Landscape Conservation System, which contains areas of archaeological and cultural significance. New and expanded areas offer protection for critical fish and wildlife habitat.