{"id":2026713,"date":"2023-09-09T11:37:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T15:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-proposed-federal-land-use-rule-redefines-conservation-to-limit-commercial-and-activity-in-response-to-climate-change\/"},"modified":"2023-09-09T11:45:20","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T15:45:20","slug":"in-depth-proposed-federal-land-use-rule-redefines-conservation-to-limit-commercial-and-activity-in-response-to-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-proposed-federal-land-use-rule-redefines-conservation-to-limit-commercial-and-activity-in-response-to-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposed federal land-use rule redefines conservation, limits commercial activity in response to climate change."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fin-depth-proposed-federal-land-use-rule-redefines-conservation-to-limit-commercial-and-activity-in-response-to-climate-change%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2026713&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>Critics of\u200d a recently proposed federal land use rule say \u2064the way it\u2019s written will increasingly reduce commercial and recreational use while inviting environmental groups who advocate for closures to protect against what \u200dthey \u2062believe to be the impact of climate\u200b change.<\/p>\n<p>In March,\u200b the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed \u201cConservation \u2063and Landscape Health\u201d \u2064(CLH) plan\u2064 to \u201cguide the balanced management\u200d of America\u2019s \u2064public lands for\u200c the \u2064benefit of current and\u200c future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to\u2062 BLM, the proposed rule will build\u200b on the Biden administration\u2019s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act \u201cby directing land managers\u2062 to identify and prioritize lands\u200b and waters through\u200b the land management process that requires\u2062 habitat restoration work,\u2064 such as \u2063removing invasive \u200dspecies or restoring streambanks.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/bipartisan-group-seeks-to-stop-biden-canceling-archery-hunting-in-schools-5487304\">Bipartisan Group Seeks \u200dto Stop Biden Canceling Archery, \u200bHunting in Schools<\/a><br \/>\n        <br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">9\/6\/2023<\/span>\n      <\/li>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/gun-rights-advocates-say-proposed-lead-ammo-ban-part-of-larger-anti-hunting-agenda-5483508\">Gun Rights Advocates Say Proposed Lead Ammo Ban Part of Larger Anti-Hunting Agenda<\/a><br \/>\n        <br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">8\/30\/2023<\/span>\n      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Though BLM said the rule will\u2063 promote\u200d conservation and increase outdoor \u200crecreation, outdoor enthusiasts and conservation policy \u200dwatchdogs warn that the new rule \u200cseeks \u200dto \u200c\u201creimagine\u200b what conservation\u2063 looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gabriella Hoffman, a senior fellow\u200c at\u2064 the Independent\u200d Women&#8217;s Forum&#8217;s Center\u200c for Energy \u200band \u200dConservation, told The Epoch Times that environmental groups have been pushing for a \u200ddeparture from \u2062a multiple-use model\u200c of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-blm-rules-on-conservation-leases-will-fundamentally-transform-public-land-management\/\" title=\"BLM's new rules for 'conservation leases' will transform public land management.\">public land management<\/a> to a\u2064 public-use model.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey want to change the meaning of what conservation is,\u201d Ms. Hoffman said. \u201cThey think conservation means preservation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Environmental preservationists, Ms. Hoffman said, seek to restrict the access to lands for recreational and commercial uses such \u2062as \u2063hunting, fishing, \u200blivestock grazing, and energy development from\u200d the public.<\/p>\n<p>To prevent overcrowding,\u200b people will \u200dbe \u2064given limited entry, all based on the chosen \u201cscience\u2062 and data\u201d provided by environmental groups.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConservation is defined as responsible human stewardship of\u2062 natural resources, but to environmental preservationists, \u2062that doesn\u2019t\u2062 sit well because they believe humans have a negative impact on the landscape,\u201d Ms. Hoffman said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    \u2063  \u200bHowever, BLM Director\u2062 Tracy Stone-Manning\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/grist.org\/politics\/cows-coal-and-climate-change-a-qa-with-the-new-blm-director\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">support&#8217;s<\/a> the Biden \u200cadministration\u2019s call for \u200cpublic lands to \u200csupply 25 \u2062gigawatts of \u200dclean energy\u2063 by 2025, which, instead of oil and gas infrastructure, looks \u2062toward solar and wind development.<br \/>\n \u2064\n  <\/div>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Tracy Stone-Manning\u2062 listens during a\u2063 confirmation hearing for her to\u200b be the director\u2063 of the Bureau of Land Management, during a hearing\u2063 of\u2063 the Senate Energy \u2062and National Resources Committee on Capitol\u2063 Hill, in Washington, on June \u200d8, 2021. \u200d(Alex Brandon\/AP\u200d Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>The Federal Land Policy and Management Act<\/h2>\n<p>    The \u2062BLM oversees \u2062247.3\u200b million acres of federal land, most of which is\u2062 located in\u2062 the\u200c western states such as Alaska, \u200dArizona, Colorado, and \u2063Montana.\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<p>In \u200b1976, Congress passed the Federal \u2062Land Policy\u200d and Management Act (FLPMA), which directed the BLM\u2063 to manage the lands in accordance with multiple use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Multiple use is defined as \u201cmanagement of the \u2064public \u200dlands \u2064and their various resource\u200b values so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet \u200cthe present and future needs of the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnder FLPMA, the principles \u200dof multiple use and \u2062sustained yield\u200c govern\u200b the BLM&#8217;s\u2062 stewardship of public lands, \u2063unless otherwise provided by law,\u201d BLM states in the CLH plan. \u2063\u201cThe \u200dBLM&#8217;s ability to manage for multiple use and \u200csustained yield of public lands \u2063depends on the resilience \u200cof ecosystems across those \u200blands\u2014that is, the health of the\u200c ecosystems and the\u200c ability of the\u200b lands \u200cto deliver\u2063 associated\u200d services, such as clean air \u200band\u200b water,\u200b food and fiber, renewable energy, and wildlife habitat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to BLM, this mission has become critical due to the degradation brought about by climate change and overuse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo ensure the resilience of renewable resources on public\u2063 lands for future generations, the proposed rule promotes\u2062 \u2018conservation\u2019 and defines that term to include both protection and \u200drestoration activities,\u201d BLM says. \u201cIt\u200d also advances tools and processes to \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-proposed-federal-land-use-rule-redefines-conservation-to-limit-commercial-and-activity-in-response-to-climate-change\/\" title=\"Proposed federal land-use rule redefines conservation, limits commercial activity in response to climate change.\">enable \u2064wise management decisions based<\/a>\u2064 on science and data.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Its language, open \u200cto interpretation, \u200boften touts conservation, then states that it doesn\u2019t \u201cprioritize conservation above other uses\u201d but places it on \u201cequal footing with other uses, consistent with the plain language of the FLPMA.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>A large tent complete with\u2063 solar panel sits on Bureau of Land Management land at the La Posa South Long-Term Visitor Site in Quartzsite, Ariz., \u2063on Feb. 12, 2022.  (Allan Stein\/The \u200bEpoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>&#8216;Uncharted Territory&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>    The proposed rule\u2063 also establishes conservation leases,\u2063 which the CLH defines as\u200d a land use authorization BLM can issue to an \u200boutside organization with the state goal \u200dof restoration \u2063and mitigation.\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<p>The \u200dconservation leases could be for up to 10 years, or a period \u201cconsistent with \u200cthe time required to \u2062achieve their objective.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey would not override valid existing \u2064rights\u2063 or preclude other, \u200bsubsequent\u200d authorizations so \u2062long \u2062as\u200c those subsequent authorizations or compatible with the conservation use,\u201d BLM says.<\/p>\n<p>The conservation\u2063 lease could work,\u2063 Ms. Hoffman said, \u2063but it\u2019s a matter \u2064of whether the administration \u200ccan be trusted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd it would limit \u200dsmaller stakeholders from having input\u200d and instead give \u200clicense to these big organizations with lots of money and \u200cpowerful lobbyists,\u201d\u200d Ms. Hoffman said. \u201cThey \u200cwould be able to bid \u2064on leases and create an uncharted territory on public access\u200c of federal land for multiple uses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A similar plan was enacted under the Obama\u2064 administration called\u200d Planning 2.0, but was later \u2063repealed under the Trump \u2064administration, Ms. Hoffman explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe \u2064Congressional Review Act \u200bsays if a rule has\u2064 been\u2062 defeated, \u200bany future rulemaking from this particular agency cannot replicate what \u200chas \u2064previously \u200cbeen deliberated before, and\u2064 this new proposal almost word for word follows the previous proposal,\u201d Ms. Hoffman said.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Wind turbines sprawl across\u2064 a valley west of the Medicine Bow Range in Wyoming. (John Haughey\/The Epoch \u2064Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>&#8216;A Clear\u200b Violation of Law&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>    \u200bIn March when the\u200d CLH was announced, Sen.\u200c Barrasso (R-Wyoming), a\u200c member of the Senate Committee on Energy and \u200dNatural Resources, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.senate.gov\/2023\/3\/barrasso-proposed-blm-rule-would-be-a-clear-violation-of-the-law\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">issued a statement<\/a> on the proposed\u200c rule, comparing it\u200c to early schemes of ecoterrorism and declaring that he would \u2062\u201cdo everything in my power to stop this proposal.\u201d\n  <\/div>\n<p>\u201cIn \u2063the 1980s extremists used\u2064 tree\u2063 spikes to try and stop responsible\u2063 management of public lands,\u201d Sen. \u2062Barrasso\u2063 said. \u201cIn 2023 they use decrees from Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The CLH, he said, undermines the requirements of multiple use\u200c on BLM\u2063 land.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWyoming families depend on access \u200bto public lands for energy and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-passes-sweeping-bill-to-end-bidens-war-on-energy-with-four-dems-voting-in-favor\/\" title=\"House Passes Sweeping Bill to End Biden's \"War on Energy\" With Four Dems Voting in Favor\">critical mineral development<\/a>, grazing, forest management, and recreation,\u201d\u2063 he said.\u2064 \u201cThe Biden Administration\u2019s extreme unilateral action \u200dwill kill multiple use. This is a clear violation of\u200d the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As someone who\u2063 hunts and fishes,\u2063 Ms.\u200d Hoffman attests to the \u2063positive benefits of outdoor recreation on land \u2063owned \u200cand\u2062 conserved \u200cthrough a relationship between \u2062the federal government and the public.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think there\u2019s\u200d a purpose for \u200dfederal land, but\u2063 it\u2063 needs \u2063to be better managed, and \u200bnot by bureaucrats who want to keep the public off of public lands, but that\u2019s what they\u2019re trying to do,\u201d\u2064 she said.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, the Department of Interior\u2019s Alaskan Federal Subsistence Board closed off 60 million acres \u2064to non-federally qualified \u2062non-local caribou \u200band moose hunters.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    \u2063 \u201cThe closure doesn\u2019t seem to be supported by science or data of big-game \u200dharvests,\u201d journalist Tyler \u2063Freel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/hunting\/wsa21-public-lands-hunting-closure-alaska\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">writes in\u200d Outdoor\u200d Life.<\/a> \u200d \u201cNon-local hunters take\u200c approximately 350 bull caribou each\u200c year, which is \u200bonly\u200b 3 percent \u200bof the annual harvestable surplus in these areas. Further, biologists have found no evidence to support claims that non-local hunters are\u2063 changing migration patterns or timing.\u201d\n  <\/div>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Caribou grazing inside the \u200dArctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (AP Photo\/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>A Traditional Conservation Model Disrupted<\/h2>\n<p>    \u2064    According to Luke\u2064 Hilgemann, the executive director\u200d of the International Order of T. Roosevelt (IOTR), policies under the\u200d Biden administration have been unfriendly to hunting, fishing, and recreation.<br \/>\n \u200c\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<p>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is carrying out plans to phase\u200d out the use of lead bullets by September 2026, he told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s basically putting up a &#8216;No \u200bTrespassing&#8217; sign up on\u2063 public land that says you can\u2019t use readily available bullets,\u201d Mr. Hilgemann said. \u201cA majority\u2063 of the sporting cartridges that are sold \u2063and used by \u200dmos<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Critics argue that the proposed federal land use rule will curtail commercial and recreational activities, favoring environmental groups advocating for closures to combat climate change. The Bureau of Land Management&#8217;s &#8220;Conservation and Landscape&#8221; proposal has raised concerns about diminishing access and usage opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":230,"featured_media":2026714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2026713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2026713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/230"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2026713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2026713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2026714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2026713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2026713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2026713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}