The Bald Mountain Wilderness was designated as part of the White Pine County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act of 2006. This act originated as a 2005 request to congress by White Pine County Commission to address conservation issues, including Wilderness. The White Pine County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act of 2006 was the first opportunity for Friends of Nevada Wilderness to address the high quality wilderness areas in the region, which were overlooked by the 1989 Nevada Wilderness Wilderness Protection Act. Throughout 2005 and 2006, Friends of Nevada Wilderness mobilized the efforts to identify and protect additional wilderness areas in White Pine County. Bald Mountain Wilderness protects 22,366 acres of both US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Lands. The Act simplified management of the Bald Mountain Wilderness by transferring jurisdiction of BLM managed land to the Forest Service. Bald Mountain is the traditional home of the Western Shoshone, who have been living on and with these lands for countless generations.