Congress

 

Proposal On Federal Land Conservation Hits Choppy House Waters — “Accusing the Biden administration of ignoring the needs of rural Americans, House Republicans ramped up their challenge Thursday against a plan by the Biden administration to improve conservation efforts on public lands by shaking up federal land management regulations. GOP lawmakers have sponsored legislation to do away with the rule that the Bureau of Land Management’s propose in April. If finalized, the rulemaking would update the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to include conservation as an approved use of public land under a land management practice known as multiple use. In managing the nearly 250 million acres of federal land under its jurisdiction, the BLM abides by the principle of multiple use as laid out in the FLPMA, short for the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. The law defines multiple use as a land-management practice that combines different types of activity — such as recreation, logging, mining or agriculture — to extract as much productivity as possible out of public land. It allows the bureau to lease parcels of public land for multiple use practices, which also include oil and gas extraction.” [Courthouse News Service, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

Stansbury Addresses What She Calls Misinformation About The BLM’s Conservation Leasing Proposal — “U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a Democrat representing New Mexico, accused Republican members of the House of Representatives of trying to mislead the American public on Thursday during a House Committee on Natural Resources meeting focused on a proposed public lands rule that would allow for conservation leasing on Bureau of Land Management lands. ‘I find it very upsetting, Mr. Chairman, when I see the resources of this body of Congress, the people’s House, being used to put forward narratives and misinformation that, in my mind, is intended to scare the American people,’ she said. ‘Because it’s just simply not true and much of what I’ve heard here today is just not true. This is really about balancing the needs of our public lands.’ U.S. Rep. John Curtis, a Republican from Utah, has introduced legislation that would require the BLM to withdraw its proposed rule that aims to set up a conservation leasing program.” [NM Political Report, 6/16/23 (=)]

 

Westerman Vows To Block BLM Conservation Rule — “The partisan rift over a proposed public lands rule grew wider Thursday, as some House Republicans vowed to block the Bureau of Land Management’s effort to prioritize rangeland conservation. At an often tense House Natural Resources Committee hearing, lawmakers debated H.R. 3397, a bill from Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) that would require the BLM director to withdraw the draft rule. Committee Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) also vowed to work with leaders on the Appropriations Committee to block the rule through a spending bill, if Curtis’ bill doesn’t make it into law. ‘It’s sad it has to happen that way, but at the end of the day we do control the purse strings,’ Westerman said. The hearing featured testimony from government officials handpicked by the Republican majority, including Republican Govs. Kristi Noem of South Dakota and Mark Gordon of Wyoming, both of whom expressed strong opposition to the draft rule. BLM’s proposal would elevate conservation on par with other uses — like livestock grazing and energy development — across the 245 million acres under the agency’s care.” [E&E News, 6/16/23 (=)]

 

House Panel Approves Energy-Water Spending Bill — “Facing a much grimmer outlook is the Bureau of Reclamation, the agency tasked with running point on drought issues across the seven-state Colorado River Basin. Reclamation would be saddled with a $91 million cut for certain efforts at a bleak time for water issues in the West, to the dismay of Democrats. Republicans said they want to shift funding to ‘increase water supply and support drought response instead of superfluous climate change activities and duplicative programs.’ Unappeased Democrats, however, are pointing to the new title for California water projects championed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Golden State Republicans. Democrats worry about the environmental trade-off of GOP plans. Subcommittee ranking member Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) alluded to conservative calls for deeper spending cuts and tougher policy fights. Kaptur believes those conservatives are unduly influencing appropriators. ‘Republicans, sadly, maybe some not in this room, maybe others, have forced their way into our bill,’ said Kaptur. ‘[Republicans] who are not interested in bills that can gain bipartisan support and become law.’” [E&E News, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

 

Department of the Interior (DOI)

 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

 

BLM Proposes Renewable Energy Rule, Expanded Solar In 5 States — “The Biden administration announced plans Thursday designed to increase renewable energy development on federal lands across the West. The centerpiece of the effort is a proposed rule that would allow the Bureau of Land Management to streamline permitting and cut by as much as 80 percent the acreage rental and capacity fees for wind and solar power projects proposed in specific areas. The rule, which proposes amending BLM renewable energy and right of way program regulations, would give the bureau the option to approve projects in these priority ‘designated leasing’ areas without holding a competitive lease auction. The areas are those BLM has determined are suitable for commercial-scale projects. The proposed rule would codify interim internal guidance BLM issued to field offices in May 2022. The Energy Act of 2020 authorized the changes to rental rates and capacity fees — a calculation of a project’s energy output capacity — if the Interior secretary determined that doing so ‘is necessary to promote the greatest use of wind and solar energy resources,’ according to the law.” [E&E News, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

Biden Admin Proposal Would Make It Easier To Cover Public Lands With Windmills And Solar Panels — “The Biden administration will propose new regulations Thursday that will deepen existing project fee cuts for wind and solar initiatives on federal land, in a bid to encourage investment in such projects. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued guidance last year under the Energy Act of 2020, which authorized the agency to reduce rents and other fees to attract solar and wind projects. Compared to this previous guidance, which cut fees by roughly 50%, the new regulation would deepen these cuts to roughly 80%, according to Reuters. ‘Our public lands are playing a critical role in the clean energy transition,’ BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in a statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. ‘This proposed rule would allow the BLM to continue leading the way on renewable energy while furthering President Biden’s commitment to building a clean energy economy, tackling the climate crisis, promoting American energy security, and creating jobs in communities across the country.’” [The Daily Caller, 6/15/23 (-)]

 

Biden Administration Rule Would Cut Fees For Renewable Development On Public Lands — “The Biden administration on Thursday announced a proposed new rule that would aim to speed the development of renewable energy on public lands. The proposed rule would cut fees for solar and wind development on public lands by 80 percent, according to an announcement by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Bureau also updated its environmental review for its plans for solar development in 11 Western states, planning to identify new areas for potential solar development, as well as lands excluded from development and those that may be suitable for development through a variance process. The proposal is open for comment for 60 days, during which the Bureau will host three public meetings. ‘The Department of the Interior takes seriously our responsibility to manage the nation’s public lands responsibly and with an eye toward the increasing impacts of the climate crisis.” [The Hill, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

DOI Floats Lower Solar, Wind Project Fees On Public Lands — “The U.S. Department of the Interior on Thursday proposed an update of its renewable energy regulations, with the explicit aim of promoting the development of solar and wind energy on public lands. The Bureau of Land Management’s proposed Renewable Energy Rule would further reduce fees for solar and wind projects by about 80%, streamline the review of applications for development in priority areas, and deliver greater private-sector certainty, the department said in a press release. The proposal comes after the Energy Act of 2020 authorized the BLM to reduce acreage rents and capacity fees in order to promote wind and solar development. The agency initially reduced these fees through guidance in 2022, in part in response to industry pushback, and the DOI said the latest proposal would codify further reductions to improve financial predictability for developers pursuing long-term projects on public land. Furthermore, the proposed rule would expand the BLM’s ability to accept leasing applications in priority areas for wind and solar development without having to complete a full auction — although the agency could still hold competitive auctions where ‘appropriate and consistent with past practice,’ the DOI said. The proposal would also expand the BLM’s ability to accept noncompetitive leasing applications ‘when they are in the public interest.’” [Law360, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

BLM Plan Aims To Ease Solar, Wind Development On Public Lands — “The Bureau of Land Management on Thursday proposed updating its regulations governing wind and solar development on public lands, potentially reducing project fees by as much as 80 percent, according to the agency. The proposal — governing rights-of-way, leasing and operations of renewable energy — includes making certain public lands available to solar and wind energy development without first holding a competitive auction. The agency also released updated information for its environmental reviews for solar energy development across Western states. The actions are part of the Biden administration’s broader focus on renewable energy development on public lands, including permitting at least 25 gigawatts of onshore renewable energy by 2025, as directed by the Energy Act of 2020.” [Politico, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

BLM Offers Extra Comment Time On Public Lands Rule — “The Bureau of Land Management has agreed to give the public until next month to weigh in on a hotly debated draft public lands rule that has sparked fierce partisan debate over the proposal’s emphasis on conservation in the face of increasing threats from climate warming. BLM announced Thursday it is extending the 75-day public comment period, set to run through June 20, by 15 days, or until July 5. The draft rule, which BLM unveiled in March, is designed to protect and restore rangelands so that they are able to be used in the future for multiple purposes in the face of a warming climate that has sparked drought conditions and extreme wildfires across the West. But the proposed rule has stirred concern among various stakeholders, particularly congressional Republicans, who say it is a veiled attempt by the Biden administration to remove potentially millions of acres from public use in the name of conservation. To date, more than 121,000 comments have been submitted to BLM, according to Regulations.gov.” [E&E News, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

Fifteen More Days — “The Interior Department is adding another 15 days for public comments on its proposed rule that would allow leasing of federal land for conservation. Nada Culver, principal deputy director for Interior’s Bureau of Land Management made the announcement that public comments will extend to July 5 while testifying at the House Natural Resources Committee on H.R. 3397 (118), a GOP-led bill that would block the rule from taking effect. Republicans on the committee blasted the rule, alleging — in the words of Minnesota Rep. Pete Stauber — it would ‘weaponize federal land’ by taking away acres for grazing, oil production and mining. While the GOP bill has no chance of making it beyond the House, Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma, forecast a busy day in court after the rule is finalized: ‘I don’t see how BLM goes through this comment period and comes out with a rule that can withstand legal challenge,’ Sgamma said during the hearing.” [Politico, 6/16/23 (=)]

 

Bureau of Reclamation

 

Interior Launches Long-Term Colorado River Negotiations — “The Biden administration on Thursday formally initiated negotiations among the seven states, 30 tribes, farmers and cities that share the drought-stricken Colorado River over new rules to govern the system beginning in 2026. The move comes just weeks after three of those states — Arizona, California and Nevada — proposed a major water conservation deal meant to keep water levels at the river’s two main reservoirs from dropping to dangerously low levels over the next three years as the parties negotiate these new, long-term rules. But that short-term deal, which is not finalized, was made possible in large part thanks to this winter’s extra precipitation, and a gush of federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to compensate farmers and other water users. The new round of negotiations stands to be much more difficult, as climate change is expected to worsen the dire drought that has gripped the region for more than two decades and water users broadly expect generous federal funding streams to dry up.” [Politico, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

Interior Kicks Off Long-Term Colorado River Planning Process — “The Interior Department on Thursday initiated formal negotiations over a long-term operating plan for the Colorado River Basin, kicking off a multiyear process that will shape the future of a major water source in the West. The Bureau of Reclamation will oversee efforts to create a new operating plan for the river and its reservoirs, which serve 40 million individuals and irrigate 5.5 million acres of farmland across seven states. More than two decades of drought have significantly diminished flows in the 1,450-mile-long river, and drained water supplies in lakes Powell and Mead, which also provide hydropower to millions of people. ‘The Bureau of Reclamation is committed to ensuring we have the tools and strategies in place to help guide the next era of the Colorado River Basin, especially in the face of continued drought conditions,’ Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said in a statement. During an appearance in Boulder, Colo., last week, Touton said she expects to have a draft proposal ready by late 2024, but acknowledged that the planning process will be ‘the hardest thing in the history of our organization and in the basin.’” [E&E News, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

Interior Seeks Input On Future Colo. River Management — “The U.S. Department of the Interior on Thursday asked the public to weigh in on how it should update its operating guidelines and protection measures for the Colorado River once the current set of policies expires in 2026. Less than a month after California, Arizona and Nevada reached an agreement about how to collectively reduce the amount of water they take from the strained river, the Interior Department said it needs to start planning for how to manage use in the face of a climate-change driven historic drought that likely means less water will be available for the region in the future. ‘Developing new operating guidelines for Lake Powell and Lake Mead is a monumentally important task and must begin now to allow for a thorough, inclusive and science-based decision-making process to be completed before the current agreements expire in 2026,’ Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said in a statement on Thursday.” [Law360, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

 

Courts & Legal

 

Supreme Court Water Ruling Could Transform NEPA, ESA — “In its blockbuster Clean Water Act ruling last month, the Supreme Court did more than ratchet back EPA oversight of the nation’s wetlands — the justices may have also removed key pathways to endangered species protections and climate reviews of major federal projects. Sackett v. EPA, a case about whether an Idaho couple illegally filled in a wetland while building their dream home, set forth a massive cutback of federal safeguards for wetlands without a clear surface connection to traditionally navigable waters like lakes and streams — going further to restrict the Clean Water Act’s scope than even the Trump administration had proposed. Removing the need for many projects to obtain permits under Section 404 of the statute, which governs dredge-and-fill discharges, would also erase important triggers for National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act reviews, said Robert Glicksman, a law professor at George Washington University. ‘The programs are intertwined in ways that aren’t immediately obvious,’ he said. Both NEPA and the ESA require federal action to trigger a review, which in turn forces developers to consider their project’s effect on the environment and vulnerable species. Oftentimes, a Section 404 permit forms this federal connection.” [E&E News, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

 

States & Local

 

Alaska

 

Appeals Court Dismisses Lawsuit Over Trump-Era Izembek Land Swap — “A legal battle over the Trump administration’s effort to build a road through a wildlife refuge in Alaska has ended without a ruling, clearing the way for the Biden administration to try again. The court wrote that a recent decision by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland made the case moot. Background: After years of court fights, a divided three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit last year upheld a Trump-era action from the Interior Department to swap land out of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to build an emergency medical evacuation road connecting the isolated community of King Cove with an airport. That prompted an en banc appeal from environmentalists opposed to the road, with support from former President Jimmy Carter, who signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act into law in 1980. A panel of 11 judges heard an appeal in December. Before the court could rule, Haaland in March withdrew the Trump-era land swap with plans to conduct a new process. That withdrawal made the litigation moot, Interior argued. But local Native groups and the state of Alaska pushed back, arguing that Haaland did not have the authority to withdraw from the land swap.” [Politico, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

Appeals Court Ends Legal Battle Over Izembek Land Swap — “A federal appeals court has ended the long-running legal debate over a controversial land-swap agreement that would have paved the way for a possible road through Alaska’s Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order Thursday granting the Department of Justice’s request to drop a yearslong challenge of a district court’s ruling striking down a contentious 2019 land-exchange agreement orchestrated by then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. The appeals court granted the DOJ motion to dismiss roughly three months after Interior Secretary Deb Haaland issued a decision in March that overturned the land-exchange agreement between Bernhardt and King Cove Corp., a Native Alaskan corporation. The court order on Thursday also rejected a motion filed by a lawyer for King Cove, which is an intervenor in the case on the Interior Department’s side, asking the appeals court to issue an ‘emergency injunction’ blocking Interior from implementing Haaland’s decision to revoke the land exchange.” [E&E News, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

Arizona

 

AP | Female Mexican Gray Wolf Released Into Wild In Arizona — “A female Mexican gray wolf that a group of schoolchildren nicknamed Asha has been returned to the wilds of Arizona after she was found wandering in northern New Mexico outside of a zone set up for the recovery of her subspecies, the Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday. The wolf was headed north into the southern Rocky Mountains of New Mexico in January when the wildlife service captured her outside the recovery area. FWS says it does not anthropomorphize wild animals by using human or pet names favored by the public and nongovernmental groups and calls her Female Wolf 2745. ‘Wolves like Asha have shown, time and time again, that this purely political boundary is ecologically irrelevant,’ said Cyndi Tuell, Arizona and New Mexico director of the nongovernmental Western Watersheds Project. Tuell and other environmentalists say the zone is arbitrary and that the animals should be able to roam freely, potentially introducing them to other wolves for breeding and increase their genetic diversity, conservationists insist.” [E&E News, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

Idaho

 

Biden Taps Cold War-Era Law To Offer $15M For Cobalt Mine — “The Biden administration will financially back a cobalt mine in Idaho that shuttered earlier this year, offering up $15 million under a Cold War-era law meant to decrease reliance on overseas sources of the controversial mineral. The Defense Department announced Thursday that it has entered into an agreement with Jervois Mining USA Ltd. under the Defense Production Act to provide the funding, which will allow the company to conduct feasibility studies to expand cobalt extraction in Idaho. Jervois, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, last fall promised it would start operations at its cobalt mine in Idaho’s remote Salmon River Mountains along the state’s historic cobalt belt this year, but the project was instead idled in March after cobalt prices cratered. The mine closed temporarily even though cobalt is used to make electric vehicle batteries and has been deemed ‘critical’ by the U.S. Geological Survey and needed for national security and the economy. The Biden administration has taken other steps to pivot from global reliance on other countries like Congo for cobalt. Last year, the State Department pledged to help build an EV battery supply chain in Congo and Zambia, raising questions about whether the U.S. could help curb alleged labor abuses in the Congolese cobalt sector, which provides 70 percent of the world’s supply.” [E&E News, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

Interior Department Announces $38.2m In Payments To Idaho Communities — “The Department of the Interior Thursday announced that 44 local governments in Idaho will receive a total of $38.2 million in Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding for 2023. Because local governments cannot tax federal lands, annual PILT payments help to defray the costs associated with maintaining important community services. The program compensates communities for supporting the nation’s public lands, waters and invests in firefighters, police, schools and road construction. PILT payments are made for tax-exempt federal lands administered by the Department’s bureaus, including the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service. In addition, PILT payments cover federal lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission. Payments are calculated based on the number of acres of federal land within each county or jurisdiction and the population of that county or jurisdiction.” [Idaho Business Review, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

Montana

 

Op-Ed: New BLM Public Lands Rule A Win-Win For Montana  — According to Derf Johnson, “Most of us know that Montana’s public lands are a valuable resource. The American public benefits immensely from Montana’s many acres of public lands. Montana would just not be Montana without our easily accessible wide-open spaces. What many people don’t know is that oil, gas, and mining companies have been filling their bank accounts and providing executive bonuses while abusing our public lands, all while refusing to adequately compensate the public. For too long, powerful special interests like oil, gas and mining companies have been committing highway robbery on the American public. They mine and drill on public lands that belong to all federal taxpayers, but pay far below what’s just, fair, or reasonable. These companies extract valuable public resources at bargain basement prices, owing largely to the close relationship such corporations enjoy with politicians and a set of outdated land management policies.” [Flathead Beacon, 6/15/23 (+)]

 

New Mexico

 

Chaco Gains Reprieve From New Drilling — According to Mark Pearson, “A cherished landscape gained a measure of new protection this month when Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signed an order creating a 10-mile buffer zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park that precludes future oil and gas leasing. The decision culminates a yearslong campaign initiated by Puebloan tribes, local Navajo communities, archaeologists and conservation advocates. Chaco Canyon was the hub of a thriving Puebloan culture 1,000 years ago. New roads, well pads, pipelines and powerlines associated with expanding oil and gas development are encroaching on Chacoan cultural sites and renowned Chacoan roads, risking their erasure from the landscape. The Department of the Interior’s mineral withdrawal order applies only to the minerals owned by the federal government, approximately 338,000 acres of the 965,000 acres within the 10-mile buffer zone. The remaining minerals are owned by the Navajo Nation, individual Navajo allotees and the state of New Mexico, and the prohibition on new mineral leasing doesn’t apply to those lands.” [The Durango Herald, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

South Dakota

 

Republican Governors Intensify Resistance To Plan To Sell Land Leases For Conservation — “Republican governors are pushing back against a proposal by the Biden administration to put conservation on equal footing with industry on vast government-owned lands. On Thursday, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem testified before the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources in favor of a bill that would require the Bureau of Land Management to withdraw the proposal, saying it would cause ‘deep devastation.’ The White House’s plan would allow conservationists and others to lease federally owned land to restore it, much the same way oil companies buy leases to drill and ranchers pay to graze cattle. Leases also could be bought on behalf of companies such as oil drillers who want to offset damage to public land by restoring acreage elsewhere. The top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, said the proposal was ‘long overdue,’ noting that conservation historically ‘has taken a back seat to all other uses.’” [Associated Press, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

Gov. Kristi Noem 'Offended' Over Proposed Public Lands Rule — “Gov. Kristi Noem testified on Capitol Hill Thursday in favor of Congress preventing the Bureau of Land Management from enforcing a new proposed rule concerning conservation efforts on public lands. Governor Kristi Noem signs HB 1090 into law on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at C&B Operations in Mitchell. The proposed rule would apply land health standards to BLM-managed lands, clarify conservation as a use and revise existing regulations to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. An overarching framework for BLM programs to promote ecosystem resilience on public lands would also be added. The second-term Republican governor, joined by Wyoming Republican Governor Mark Gordon, told the House Natural Resources Committee the proposed rule would devastate public land management. ‘This rule is just one of many that highlights an example of an overreaching, unelected bureaucracy attempting to perpetuate radical environmental policies that ignore common sense,’ Noem said. ‘They ignore stewardship practices that have been practiced on our land for generations.’” [Argus Leader, 6/15/23 (=)]

 

 

Analysis & Opinion

 

Biden Wants To Protect Public Lands. What About Renewable Energy? — “President Biden has prioritized construction of solar and wind farms on public lands to help solve climate change. But solar companies worry a new regulation proposed by the Biden administration would do the opposite, limiting their ability to build on public lands by giving federal employees — and members of the public — new tools to block development. It’s the latest example of a growing conflict between clean energy and conservation — a conflict that threatens to derail climate solutions even as rising temperatures disrupt human life and drive wildlife toward extinction. Biden’s appointees have framed the Public Lands Rule as a sea change in how the Bureau of Land Management protects the 245 million acres under its care in the American West. They say the rule would put conservation on an equal footing with energy development, mining and recreation — which was already supposed to be the case but hasn’t always been in practice. ‘For too long, land management planning has been dominated by extractive industries,’ Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said at an environmental journalism conference in April. ‘This proposal is a long time coming and will go far to help address the growing pressures we’re seeing on our public lands from fossil fuel development and the impacts of the climate crisis.’” [Los Angeles Times, 6/15/23 (+)]

 

‘Inappropriate’: Solar Companies Rip Biden Over Proposed Conservation Rules — “Solar companies criticized the Biden administration’s recently proposed land conservation rules for using ‘inappropriate’ and ‘overbroad’ standards they argue would harm the industry, according to a statement released Thursday. The Department of Interior (DOI) in late March proposed rules to allow public lands to be leased for conservation — similar to existing permits for energy projects and ranching — to the cheers of environmentalists and frustration of oil interests. Solar companies are now expressing concern that the proposal could lead to conservationists and government officials blocking their projects on environmental grounds, undercutting the Biden administration’s own efforts to boost wind and solar and shut down coal, oil and gas projects.” [The Daily Caller, 6/15/23 (-)]

 

Western State Officials Battle Biden Land Grab — “South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem testifies Thursday on Capitol Hill, defending her state against what Western congressmen call a federal land grab. Wyoming’s Republican Governor Mark Gordon joins her to throw support behind House Resolution 3397, a measure introduced in May by Republican congressmen from Western states and referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. The bill aims to stop the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from implementing a proposed rule that would expand its power without Congressional authority. According to one of the bill’s sponsors, Republican Representative John Curtis of Utah, the new rule undermines an existing federal ‘multiple use and sustained yield’ law — which requires the BLM to allow various activities on public land, such as mineral development, grazing, forestry, and recreation. In the name of so-called preservation, BLM wants to drastically restrict or even prevent access to federal lands.” [The New American, 6/15/23 (-)]

 

 

 

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