Agua Fria National Monument is in the U.S. state of Arizona, approximately 40 miles (64 km) north of downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Created by Presidential proclamation on January 11, 2000, the 72,344-acre monument is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Bureau of Land Management already managed the lands; however, under monument status the level of protection and preservation of resources within the new monument have been enhanced.

National Conservation Lands, formally known as the National Landscape Conservation System, is a 35-million-acre (140,000 km2) collection of lands in 873 federally recognized areas considered to be the crown jewels of the American West. These lands represent 10% of the 258 million acres (1,040,000 km2) managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM is the largest federal public land manager and is responsible for over 40% of all the federal public land in the nation. The other major federal public land managers include the US Forest Service (USFS), National Park Service (NPS), and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).