RENO -- Federal land managers will conduct an environmental review and hold two public meetings next month to gather public comment on a proposed off-highway race this summer that would stretch three days over about 1,000 miles of Nevada's high desert.

The Bureau of Land Management will prepare an environmental assessment that analyzes the impacts of the proposed race and will accept written public comments until March 6.

The agency also plans to gather comment at public meetings at the Beatty Town Hall on Feb. 24 and Goldfield Community Center on Feb. 25. Both meetings are scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The race planned Aug. 20-22 is called the "Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno Off-Highway Race'' but won't actually pass through either city.

It would begin north of Pahrump and run through Beatty, Tonopah and Hawthorne before finishing southeast of Dayton.

The Best in the Desert Racing Association, which is seeking a special recreation permit from the BLM to conduct the race, bills it as the "greatest long-distance, off-road event in this decade on U.S. soil.''

As many as 350 vehicles could be entered, including motorcycles, ATVs, dune buggies, high clearance SUVs and 4x4 trucks, the BLM said.

The race route utilizes a combination of smooth and rough existing dirt roads on public lands in Nye, Esmeralda, Mineral, Lyon, and Douglas counties, the agency said in a statement Friday.

The proposed course includes routes that have been raced upon in the past. It would include 24 pit areas, several stop check locations and several highway and road crossings along the route.