Let’s make conservation a priority.
It’s time to bring balance to how we manage public lands and waters for the benefit of western communities, wildlife and a sustainable future.
Slinkard Wilderness Study Area, California. Photo by Bob Wick.
Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area
Photo by Bob Wick
BLM Rule to Balance Land Use Sees Overwhelming Public Support
92% of comments supportive of the Public Lands Rule
Pacific Crest Trail, California.
Photo by Bob Wick.
Add Your Voice
Help shape the future of public lands and the local communities, water sources and wildlife that rely on them by participating in the Bureau of Land Management’s comment period and public meetings.
Let’s show overwhelming support for elevating conservation and bringing balance to how these public lands are managed for generations to come. Click here to sign up for future updates →
Amargosa River Basin, California / Photo by Bob Wick
Legal Experts Comment
on Public Lands Rule
On June 15, 2023, 27 legal experts sent a letter to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) director Tracy Stone Manning reiterating the legality of the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, known as the Public Lands Rule. In the letter, the signatories write,
“At the highest level, the proposed rule tracks closely to and is consistent with Congress’s clearly expressed intentions in FLPMA that BLM manage the public lands for conservation, as well as consumption, that is, ‘for multiple use and sustained yield.’
Public lands must be managed “in a manner that will protect the quality of scientific, scenic, historical, ecological, environmental, air and atmospheric, water resources, and archaeological values ... [and] that, where appropriate, will preserve and protect certain public lands in their natural condition.” Congress directed that BLM “establish comprehensive rules and regulations after considering the views of the public” to effectuate these goals. That is precisely what BLM is doing with this proposed rule.”
Once-In-A-Generation Opportunity
Nearly 40% of all US public lands are overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. These lands provide clean drinking water and fresh air, support healthy natural areas for wildlife and recreation outdoors, and protect innumerable cultural sites and landscapes valued by Indigenous and other communities across the West. However, for nearly 40 years the agency has prioritized resource extraction over conservation, recreation, wildlife, fragile watersheds, and cultural resource protection in partnership with tribes who have stewarded these lands for centuries.
The agency currently allows oil and gas leasing on 90% of these public lands that are vital sources of our water supplies, wildlife and way of life —and a 150 year old mining law makes mining the priority use above all others.
With rapid changes occurring in the West due to nature loss, drought, wildfire and other climate-related impacts to communities, as well as increasing development pressures, it’s time for the agency to bring balance to its mission and manage these essential lands and waters for conservation and future generations.
The Bureau of Land Management is modernizing its national policies to balance conservation with other uses on public lands.
This policymaking creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure local land managers in the agency have clear directions, reliable funding, and credible science to prioritize conservation for the benefit of western communities, wildlife and a sustainable future.
It’s essential that the public shows support for this policy update and participates in the agency’s comment period and public meetings.
Support & News
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Kevin Timm, Co-Founder and Co-owner Seek Outside
"As an outdoor business owner in Colorado, protected public lands play a critical role in my business and way of life. Protecting more of these BLM lands can help support local economies, local tourism industries and even local manufacturing like our Grand Junction-based outdoor brand while preserving our outstanding opportunities for recreation, including camping, hiking, paddling, hunting and fishing. I strongly encourage the Department of Interior and Bureau of Land Management to do all that they can to better conserve and protect our nation’s important public lands and waters. By doing so, they will provide opportunities for outdoor recreation, equitable access to nature, and safeguard the climate which will ensure that these important public lands continue to offer the unique recreational opportunities that bring millions of Americans to the great outdoors.”
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Anna Peterson, Executive Director of The Mountain Pact
“Over 120 local elected officials from western states have called on the Biden administration to protect more Bureau of Land Management lands as part of the administration’s America the Beautiful initiative. We look forward to the BLM using this rulemaking process to conserve and protect our nation’s important public lands, wildlife and waters in tandem with locally-led efforts to advance conservation across the west.”
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Jim Baca, Former BLM Director and New Mexico Land Commissioner
“The time has certainly arrived and, in reality, is overdue for BLM to put the protection of New Mexico’s and our nation’s wildest public lands, the health of crucial rivers and streams and the integrity of its irreplaceable sacred sites and cultural resources on even footing extractive industry.”
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Letter from over 120 Local Elected Leaders in the West
“As the largest land manager in the nation, the Bureau of Land Management must play a leading role in protecting our public lands for the future. Because of this, we encourage you to use your authority to advance conservation across the West, by using all of the conservation tools at your disposal.”
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The Grand Junction Sentinel Editorial
“We live here for a reason and for many of us, that’s because of the landscapes found here, which are often managed by the BLM. We’d like those landscapes protected, while listening to the perspectives and concerns of all the user groups represented in our community and across the West.”
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Howard Watts, Nevada State Assemblyman
“Many of our communities are located near Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands, which include traditional homelands of Indigenous populations, vital watersheds for downstream communities, and outstanding fish and wildlife habitat. They also provide outstanding opportunities for outdoor recreation, including camping, hiking, paddling, hunting and fishing. I was happy to join with over 100 of my colleagues in encouraging the BLM and the administration to do more to protect these important places and we hope the BLM will work with communities across the state to implement these new rules in upcoming plans.”
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Keith Baker, Chaffee County, Colorado County Commissioner
“When used wisely, the Bureau of Land Management conservation mechanisms will support our local economies, tourism, and outdoor recreation as well as provide certainty for our rural and gateway communities so we can make long-term investments. We look forward to this rule-making process and modernizing management policies to allow for increased recreational opportunities and access to nature.”
McCoy Flats, Utah. Photo by Bob Wick.
Share with family and friends.
Bureau of Land Management lands are the nation’s iconic open landscapes of the West that drive tourism, offer refuge for wildlife, provide public access to nature, and safeguard innumerable stories of human experiences on the land.
Now is the time to act and invite others to help save these critical places that are the backbone of a vibrant future for all of us.
It’s time to bring balance to how we manage #publiclands and waters. #ActNowForPublicLands and urge @BLMNational to elevate conservation of public lands for local economies, wildlife and future generations. actnowforpubliclands.org
