Menu

Trump administration cancels rule that made conservation a ‘use’ of public lands
📰
0

Trump administration cancels rule that made conservation a ‘use’ of public lands

The Seattle Times·MATTHEW BROWN The Associated Press·21 days ago
#f0HUuYUO
Reading 0:00
15s threshold

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Interior Department is canceling a rule that put conservation on equal footing with development, as President Donald Trump’s administration eases restrictions on industries and seeks to boost drilling, logging, mining and grazing on taxpayer-owned land. The 2024 rule adopted under former President Joe Biden was meant to refocus the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management, which oversees about 10% of land in the U.S. It allowed public property to be leased for restoration in the same way that oil companies lease land for drilling. But Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has said the rule could have blocked access to hundreds of thousands of acres (hectares) of land — preventing energy and timber production and hurting ranchers who graze on public lands. Supporters argued that conservation had long been a secondary consideration at the land bureau, neglecting its mission under the 1976 Federal Lands Policy Management Act.…

Continue reading — create a free account

Join HashtagPLUS to read full articles, follow hashtags, vote, and join the conversation.

Read More