BLM Public Lands Rule rollback proposal announced; 60-day comment period to follow

WASHINGTON D.C. (Sept. 10, 2025) — The Department of the Interior announced a proposed rule to rescind [PDF] the BLM Public Lands Rule (also known as the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule), reverting the nation’s largest land agency to an unbalanced approach that unabashedly favors uses like drilling, mining and grazing. There will be a 60-day period for the public to submit comments about the proposed rule. 

Alison Flint, senior legal director at The Wilderness Society, made the following statement about the news: 

“With this announcement, the administration is saying that public lands should be managed primarily for the good of powerful drilling, mining and development interests. They’re saying that public lands’ role in providing Americans the freedom to enjoy the outdoors, and conserve beloved places for future generation, is a second-class consideration. They’re saying these things even though most BLM lands are already open for energy development, and even though a huge wave of bipartisan support for public lands conservation played a key part in defeating a proposal to sell off millions of acres in the budget reconciliation fight just a couple of months ago.   

Interior’s rationale for repeal is on shaky footing – stating that it believes the rule is unnecessary and violates statutory direction. To the contrary, the Public Lands Rule was informed by many months of thoughtful public engagement and review, and it has solid grounding in a nearly 50-year-old directive from Congress. Indeed, it is necessary to ensure compliance with long-standing direction from Congress that protecting undeveloped landscapes, wildlife habitat, and cultural resources is central to BLM’s mission. The administration cannot simply overthrow that statutory authority because they would prefer to let drilling and mining companies call the shots.” 

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Finalized in 2024, the BLM Public Lands Rule (also called the “Conservation and Landscape Health Rule”) marked an important change in how the federal government sees the responsibility of managing natural resources. The rule placed conservation and outdoor recreation on equal footing with uses like drilling, mining and grazing on the BLM’s 245-million-acre estate. This step provided direction for the balanced approach that was prescribed for the agency by Congress in 1976 but never fully followed in the years since (despite the agency’s “multiple-use” mandate, recently released data show that some 81% of BLM lands are open to oil and gas leasing, demonstrating the need for the rule). 

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