The Department of the Interior is proposing to rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) 2024 Public Lands Rule, which had elevated conservation (or “no use”) to the same level as grazing, energy development, recreation, and other land uses. Critics argued the rule created uncertainty, reduced access, and exceeded BLM’s legal authority by prioritizing conservation over multiple use.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the rollback restores balance, empowers local decision-making, and protects rural livelihoods tied to agriculture, energy, and recreation.
“The previous administration’s Public Lands Rule had the potential to block access to hundreds of thousands of acres of multiple-use land – preventing energy and mineral production, timber management, grazing, and recreation across the West,” said Secretary Doug Burgum. “The most effective caretakers of our federal lands are those whose livelihoods rely on its well-being. Overturning this rule protects our American way of life and gives our communities a voice in the land that they depend on.”
The BLM said in a press release on Wednesday that the move aligns with his “Unleashing American Energy” directive, removing barriers to development while still recognizing that communities reliant on public lands have long conserved them.
The Biden-era Public Lands Rule has been a longstanding, hard-fought issue for Western agriculture groups like the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and Public Lands Council (PLC), which sued over the rule in 2024. Opponents argued the rule violated the Federal Land Policy and Management Act’s multiple-use mandate and threatened to remove ranching and other activities from public lands.
The Long Fight from Industry Groups to Protect Their Own Lands
Kaitlynn Glover, PLC Executive Director and NCBA Natural Resources representative, joined us on Thursday’s Market Day Report to provide industry reaction. In her interview with RFD-TV’s own Tammi Arrender, Glover recaps the BLM ruling and its negative impact on agriculture, particularly in the Western U.S.
Glover also addresses what the most recent news from the Interior Dept. could mean for ranchers and rural communities if realized, and the ongoing efforts of PLC and NCBA stakeholders to fight back and rescind the rule.
NCBA President Buck Wehrbein said the rule was pushed through without rancher input and aimed to dismantle family ranches. PLC President Tim Canterbury added that it undermined grazing’s role in ecosystem health and wildfire prevention.
“NCBA fought back hard against this misguided rule, that was a dream for radical activists across the country looking to remove cattle from American rangeland, tear apart family ranches, and upend generations of legal precedent,” said Wehrbein in a media release. “Cattle producers were blindsided with this rulemaking two years ago and were not asked to give any input until the rule was already drafted. This was not a rulemaking to improve daily life for Americans; it was a shot across the bow of an entire industry, and we responded in kind. Thank you to the Trump administration and new BLM leadership for listening to producers and rescinding this grossly misguided rule.”
The lawsuit against the rule was supported by a broad coalition of agricultural, energy, and industry groups. Ranchers and rural communities praised the Trump administration and new BLM leadership for rescinding the rule, calling it a commonsense step to restore certainty and protect working lands.
Once published in the Federal Register, the proposed rescission will be open for a 60-day public comment period.
