New conservation rule by Bureau of Land Management limits public access to federal lands, says Sen. Barrasso.

Proposed Rule Change Sparks Debate Over Public Land Use

The Multi-Use Doctrine and Proposed Changes

For the past 50 years, the United States Department of Interior (DOI) has used a multi-use doctrine to manage the 480 million acres of federal public lands across the country. This doctrine considers recreational activities, such as fishing, hunting, and camping, to be equally viable uses of public land as economic pursuits like grazing, logging, mining, and oil/gas development. However, the DOI’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently proposed new regulations that would add conservation as a land-use category to be considered alongside recreational activities and economic pursuits on the 245 million acres of public lands it manages.

Criticism and Support for the Proposed Rule Change

The proposed rule change has drawn criticism from Western senators who argue that it would make conservation a non-use of land, attacking the multi-use doctrine that has guided federal public land use for decades. They claim that this categorization would restrict access to and uses of federal land, limiting economic activities on public lands in Wyoming and across the West. However, supporters of the proposed rule change argue that it would not foreclose any other uses, such as grazing, mining, or energy development, and would simply put conservation on equal footing within the multi-use mandate.

Conservation Leases and Restoration Work

The proposed rule change would also allow the BLM to offer third-party conservation leases to organizations for restoration work on public lands in cooperation with community partners. These leases would allow organizations to restore habitats for activities that generate revenue for the American taxpayer, such as big game migration corridors or carbon markets. While some senators have expressed concerns that recognizing conservation as a land use would threaten traditional uses like ranching, mining, and logging on federal lands, supporters argue that conservation and energy development can go hand in hand on BLM lands.

Public Comment Period

The proposed rule change is currently in a 75-day public comment period that concludes on June 20. While some are calling it a seismic shift in public lands management, others see it as an important step towards ensuring that the American people who own these lands get a fair return for the resources that are on those lands. Regardless of the outcome, the debate over public land use and the multi-use doctrine is sure to continue for years to come.