Trump administration wants to cancel Biden-era rule that elevated conservation on public land

US officials spark backlash with sudden U-turn impacting public lands: 'Just tipped the scales back to the 19th century'

The Trump administration is poised to reverse a Biden-era policy aimed at protecting public lands from development and climate impacts. Under a new proposal, many of these lands would no longer be conserved or preserved for recreation but instead used for coal mining, gas and oil drilling, timber production, and agricultural grazing.  What's happening? As the New York Times reported in early September, the current administration is moving forwar…

Government wants to reverse public land management rule

BILLINGS, Mont. — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has proposed canceling a public land management rule that put conservation on equal footing with development, as President Donald Trump's administration seeks to open more taxpayer-owned tracts to drilling, logging, mining and grazing.

Trump administration moves to kill Biden-era Public Lands Rule for Bureau of Land Management

The U.S. Department of the Interior is looking to overturn the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule in a move that has environmental groups decrying it as a way to favor extractive industries.  The rule was implemented under the Biden administration in 2024 that recognized conservation as an essential component of the bureau’s public lands management, placing it on equal footing with other uses such as grazing, energy, and recreation.  …

Department of Interior proposing repeal of public land rule to help with energy production

The government's move was praised by Republicans and industry groups, while environmentalists said it would threaten wildlife, hunting and public access.

Trump Wants to Decimate Public Land Protections ... for Drilling

The Trump administration wants to take 245 million acres of public land that was previously protected for conservation and use it to “drill, baby drill.”In 2024, the Biden administration installed a federal rule to “restore habitats, guide strategic and responsible development, and sustain our public lands for generations to come,” particularly in the West. Now Trump is trying to repeal the law to make it easier to drill for oil and keep cattle …

Burgum moves to cancel public land rule that's opposed in ND

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wants to cancel a public land management rule that sought to put conservation on equal footing with industry.