A signature Biden-era public lands policy that places conservation on par with energy development and mining on millions of acres overseen by the Bureau of Land Management is one step closer to being revoked.
The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs completed its review Thursday of a draft rule that would rescind BLM’s public lands rule implemented last year.
The sweeping rule, among other things, applied rangeland health standards across the 245 million acres the bureau oversees. It also created a restoration and mitigation leasing program to leverage private dollars by allowing companies and nonprofit groups to purchase leases for restoration projects or to offset damage from projects on other bureau rangelands.
Congressional Republicans and other critics have long blasted the rule, singling out the leasing program that they argue could be used by environmental groups to lock up public lands for years. At least six states have filed federal lawsuits challenging the public lands rule, including North Dakota last year while Interior Secretary Doug Burgum was governor.
