The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced the adoption of a final Public Lands Rule (“Rule”), which builds on President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and America the Beautiful initiative recognizing the critical value of public lands to all Americans. The Rule is intended to guide the management of public lands by improving the health and resilience of public lands by conserving wildlife habitat and intact landscapes and facilitating responsible development on public lands. The Rule prioritizes conservation through new initiatives such as restoration and mitigation leasing frameworks placing conservation priorities on equal grounds with other land uses such as oil and gas leasing. The Rule also seeks to protect historic, cultural, and scenic resources by designating more areas as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) under the Land Policy and Management Act. While environmental groups praise the Rule believing it will ensure that public lands are managed for public benefits; opponents argue that the conservation emphasis is contrary to BLM’s mission and statutory authority and will diminish public land use for livelihoods, such as energy and mineral production, grazing, and recreation. The Rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register in the coming days.
