The systematic assault on America’s public lands just keeps coming! The latest attempt to privatize our public lands comes in the form of rescinding the Public Lands Rule.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed rescinding the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule (Public Lands Rule), a landmark policy finalized in 2024 that gave conservation equal footing with other uses on 245 million acres of public lands nationwide. Conservation has always been an essential part of the BLM’s mandate. The Public Lands Rule just clarified that conservation, access to nature, protection of cultural resources, wildlife habitat, and action on climate change are just as much of a consideration as drilling, mining, and other industrial uses in the “multiple use and sustained yield” mandate.
This rollback threatens protections for wildlife habitat, clean water, recreation, and cultural landscapes, values that define life in the Eastern Sierra and beyond.
If the Public Lands Rule is rescinded, the BLM will lose important tools that:
- Protect intact landscapes that support mule deer, pronghorn, sage-grouse, bighorn sheep, and countless other species.
- Safeguard water resources by maintaining healthy watersheds that feed the Owens River, Mono Lake, and desert springs.
- Address climate threats like wildfire, invasive species, and prolonged drought before they cause irreversible damage.
- Designate and protect Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs), places valued for cultural resources, wildlife, or unique natural features.
- Support inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge in decision-making on all aspects of public land use and management.
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