Trump’s Secretary of the Interior Seeks to Sell Off Our Public Lands
Trump’s Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum last week proposed cancelling the Public Lands Conservation Rule adopted in April 2024 by the Biden Administration.
The Public Lands Conservation Rule puts conservation of public land on equal footing with development in land management by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It represents a key part of Biden’s efforts to refocus the BLM, which oversees about 10% of lands in the United States, including vast tracts in the Midwest and western states. Grazing, logging, mining, and drilling lobbies fought against adoption of the rule.
In announcing his proposal to cancel the rule, Burgum touted the Administration’s plans to open more BLM land to drilling for oil and gas, calling that “balanced multi-use.”
Environmental Organizations Speak Out
Environmental groups blasted the move. “Eliminating this rule is a dangerous step backward that puts endangered wildlife, rural communities, and clean drinking water at risk. The Bureau of Land Management is supposed to think about more than just mining, timber, and oil and gas development. By moving to dump the Public Lands Rule, it is trying to jettison a critical mechanism that helps to ensure that conservation is on equal footing,” said Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Director of Land Conservation Bobby McEnaney. “This is an administration that would rather sell off the nation’s public lands for shortsighted profit than honor its duty to ensure long-term sustainable use. By abandoning conservation as a key tenet of land management, the administration is rejecting the overwhelming public support for protecting the public lands we all treasure.” Outdoor recreation generates more than $1.2 trillion in economic output annually.
“The Trump administration is attempting to reverse a monumental rule that ensured conservation use on public lands in order to continue massive giveaways for Big Oil. Conservation is crucial to ensuring our public lands are accessible, protecting our communities and cultural resources, and supporting the outdoor and public lands workforce,” said America Fitzpatrick, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Conservation Program Director. “This administration is disregarding the years of community input, science, and interests of a broad range of stakeholders and continuing to prioritize Big Oil’s wish list, which will privatize the sell off of our public lands. We are all in to continue to fight to stop the sell off of our public lands.”
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