News & Alerts
June 14, 2023 Public Comment Period for BLM’s Proposed Public Lands Rule Closes June 20pdf
The deadline of June 20 to submit comments on BLM’s proposed Public Lands Rule is quickly approaching. The rule, titled “Conservation and Landscape Health,” was proposed on April 2, 2023, and seeks to prioritize the health and resilience of ecosystems on public lands managed by BLM, whose mission pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA) is to ensure multiple use and sustained yield on those lands. Essentially, the rule would apply “land health standards” – currently applicable only to grazing authorizations – to all proposed public lands uses. The rule clarifies “conservation,” defined to include both protection and restoration activities, “is a use on par with other uses of the public lands under FLPMA’s multiple-use and sustained-yield framework.” The rule would establish “conservation leases” to achieve its goals, along with a new focus on Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) designations as a primary tool in contributing to ecosystem reliance. Information about the rule and instructions for submitting comments is available at https://www.regulations.gov/document/BLM-2023-0001-0001.