In a sweeping move to restore the federal government’s commitment to multiple-use management, the Trump administration Tuesday finalized the rescission of the Biden-era Conservation and Landscape Health Rule (the Public Lands Rule) while simultaneously unveiling a landmark proposal to modernize the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) aging grazing regulations.
According to the Public Lands Council (PLC), individually, these actions are consequential to cattle and sheep producers across the West; together, they are a clear signal of BLM’s commitment to restoring effective multiple-use management and the agency’s investment in promoting strong rangeland resilience.
“From day one, public lands ranchers were clear with the Trump administration: we needed them to remove policies that illegally picked winners and losers in public land management, and we needed them to deliver on their commitment to bring important reforms to the agency’s 35-year-old grazing regulations,” says PLC President and Colorado permittee Tim Canterbury. “Today, they have delivered repeal of the Public Lands Rule that would have resulted in removal of grazing under the guise of ‘conservation’ principles, even though science demonstrates the benefits of our highly managed grazing on these landscapes.”
He adds, “For far too long, BLM has been operating under a set of rules that were developed in response to the ‘cattle free by [19]93’ campaign. The resulting regulations all but ensured ranchers did not have the flexibility to take full advantage of the scientific and management advances that the industry has made over the last 35 years. PLC called on the administration early in their term to incorporate principles of adaptive management into these regulations. Cattle and sheep producers – and the agency line officers they work with – should have the flexibility to make the best possible management decisions for the land, water and permit conditions, unconstrained by antiquated regulations. Today’s announcement is a massive step forward.”
What the Repeal Means for Ranchers
- Restoring Multiple-Use: The repeal removes “conservation leases” that critics argued illegally prioritized nonuse over livestock production and energy development.
- Wildfire Risk Reduction: Managed grazing is now formally recognized as a primary tool for reducing fuel loads and preventing catastrophic wildfires.
- Regulatory Flexibility: Updated regulations provide “adaptive management” power, allowing ranchers to respond to weather and forage changes without waiting for lengthy federal approvals.
What was the Public Land Rule?
According to the Associated Press, the 2024 rule adopted under former President Joe Biden was meant to refocus the BLM, 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.
AP reports, “Interior Secretary Doug Burgum 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 argue conservation had long been a secondary consideration at the land bureau, neglecting its mission under the 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act. While the bureau previously issued leases for conservation purposes in limited cases, it never had a dedicated program prior to the Biden administration.
PLC led industry efforts to repeal the Public Lands Rule since it was initially finalized in 2024, including through congressional resolutions of disapproval and seeking legal remedies for the harm that would have been done to public lands ranchers and the resources they manage.
According to PLC, “Not only was this rule illegal, but it would also have enabled the federal government to remove family owned livestock operations from working lands and increase the risk for catastrophic wildfires by leaving countless acres of rangeland unmanaged.”
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