The U.S. Department of Land Management is proposing changes to its management of millions of acres of land, including Wyoming, by prioritizing conservation as an equal priority in its “multiple use” doctrine, according to the agency.
The proposed Public Land Rule recognizes the need for a shift in how BLM lands are managed, given the increasing pressures of drought, wildfires, and other factors, the agency stated.
“With the pressure on our public lands increasing, the proposed Public Land Rule provides a path for the BLM to better focus on the health of the land, ensuring that our decisions leave our public lands as good or better than we found them,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning.
While much of Wyoming’s 16.4 million acres of BLM land support recreation and wildlife habitat, some areas require remediation due to industrial activities and the spread of invasive plant species such as cheatgrass and medusahead, said Meghan Riley, Public Lands and Wildlife Advocate at the Wyoming Outdoor Council.
Development pressures include the BLM’s own initiatives to promote commercial-scale wind and solar energy projects on federal lands in the state.
However, some view the conservation directive as a threat to grazing and the mineral extraction industries, which are already facing challenges from other federal activities.
“It doesn’t put conservation on par [with other uses],” said Pete Obermueller, Executive Director of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, regarding the BLM’s draft rule. “It elevates it above everything else, to the exclusion of everything else.”
The BLM is seeking public comments on the draft rule until June 20. Public comments can be submitted through the National Register.
Draw up rule
The proposed Preservation and Land Health rule aims to advance conservation by including both protection and restoration activities, clarifying that conservation is on par with other uses for public lands under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA).
Historically, FLPMA’s multiple-use and sustained-yield directives have primarily focused on revenue-generating activities such as coal, oil, and natural gas extraction, as well as energy infrastructure. The application of these directives to conservation areas has been less defined, according to Meghan Riley.
The goal of the proposed rule is to bring conservation on equal footing with other uses of BLM lands and achieve better balance in management decisions. To ensure consideration of conservation, the rule would designate conservation areas in the BLM’s Resource Management Plans (RMPs). However, updating RMPs can be a lengthy process, often taking 10 years or more. The BLM may enact certain aspects of the draft rule in a more timely manner.
Pete Obermueller of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming expressed concerns that the rule elevates conservation above other uses, excluding them in the process. He believes that conservation should be considered on an equal level with other activities.
The proposed rule also includes criteria for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, which would allow for special management attention to protect important historical, cultural, scenic, and natural resources. This designation would provide the BLM with a tool to prioritize conservation before the rule is fully incorporated into individual regional RMPs, according to Riley.
Preservation leasing
One of the most controversial aspects of the draft conservation rule is the creation of “conservation leasing.” Under this provision, each BLM office would be required to identify lands in need of restoration work. Energy developers could then pay to lease these areas as a condition for approval to develop other BLM lands. Conservation leases would be limited to a 10-year period, and other entities, such as conservation groups, could also choose to acquire a conservation lease.
Opponents, including the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, view conservation leasing as a means to restrict BLM lands that would otherwise be available for development. Pete Obermueller argues that it is an attempt to circumvent congressional authority over multiple-use regulations and restrict certain federal lands.
According to Riley, conservation leasing would provide the industry with an opportunity to engage in restoration work in specific areas to mitigate the impact of their development activities. She emphasizes that it does not mean the end of oil and gas leasing on BLM lands in Wyoming or elsewhere.
Political level of resistance
Superintendent of Public Education Megan Degenfelder, who has previous experience in the coal, oil, and gas industries, expressed her opposition to the draft conservation rule in a letter to the BLM. She argued that the rule would threaten mineral development in adjacent state lands, which Wyoming’s K-12 schools heavily rely on for revenue.
Degenfelder stated that due to the interconnected nature of state and federal lands in Wyoming, any restrictions on land use would directly impact leasing and development activities on state lands. This, in turn, would decrease revenue generated for funding public schools. She emphasized that the proposed rule directly jeopardizes education funding in the state.
U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, along with other GOP members, introduced a bill to block the BLM’s draft rule. They expressed concern that the rule would hinder access to public lands for energy production, critical mineral development, grazing, forest management, and recreation. Senator Barrasso stated that the Biden Administration’s proposed action goes against multiple-use principles and vowed to do everything in his power to stop the proposal.
Dustin Bleizeffer is a new U.S. Corps member covering electricity issues for WyoFile. He has worked as a fossil fuel miner, an auto mechanic in the oil fields, and for twenty-five years as a statewide reporter with an editor primarily…
