On September 10, the Department of the Interior announced that it is proposing to rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule. From the date that the Federal Register notice publishes, a 60-day comment period will open on the proposed rule rescission.
The 2024 Public Lands Rule made conservation an official use of public lands, putting it on the same level as BLM’s other uses of public lands. The previous administration had treated conservation as “no use,” meaning the land was to be left idle rather than authorizing legitimate uses of the land like grazing, energy development, or recreation. However, stakeholders, including the energy industry, recreational users, and agricultural producers across the country expressed concern that the rule created regulatory uncertainty, reduced access to lands, and undermined the long-standing multiple-use mandate of the BLM as established by Congress. Now, the BLM proposes to rescind this rule in full, returning more authority back to states, counties, and tribes who are directly impacted by the management of public lands.
For more information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, Staci Heaton.