By MATTHEW BROWN (Associated Press)
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration finalized a new rule for managing public land that aims to give conservation an equal standing with oil drilling, grazing, and other industries on large government-owned properties.
Officials moved forward with the proposal despite strong opposition from private industry and Republican governors .
The rule from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management — which oversees over 380,000 square miles (990,000 square kilometers) of land, mainly in the U.S. West — will allow public property to be leased for restoration in the same manner as oil companies lease land for drilling.
The rule also encourages the identification of more “areas of critical environmental concern” — a special status that can limit development. It’s given to land with historic or cultural significance or that’s important for wildlife conservation.
The land bureau has a history of industry-friendly policies and for more than a century has sold grazing permits and oil and gas leases. Along with its surface land holdings, the bureau regulates publicly-owned underground mineral reserves — such as coal for power plants and lithium for renewable energy — across over 1 million square miles (2.5 million square kilometers).
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the changes would “restore balance” to how the U.S. government manages its public lands. The new rule continues the administration’s efforts to use science to restore habitats and guide “strategic and responsible development,” Haaland said in a statement.
But Republican lawmakers and industry representatives criticized the move as a backdoor way to exclude mining, energy development, and agriculture from government acreage that’s often inexpensive to lease. They argue the administration is violating the “multiple use” mandate for Interior Department lands, by elevating the “non-use” of federal lands — meaning restoration leases — to a position of prominence.
“By putting its thumb on the scales to strongly favor conservation over other uses, this rule will obstruct responsible domestic mining projects,” said National Mining Association President Rich Nolan.
The rule’s adoption comes amid a flurry of new regulations from the Biden administration as the Democrat seeks reelection to a second term in November.
Government agencies recently tightened vehicle emissions standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, established limits on PFAS chemicals in drinking water and raised royalty rates for oil companies that drill on public lands.
About 10% of all land in the U.S. falls under the Bureau of Land Management’s jurisdiction, making the agency a point of contention regarding the level of development permitted on public property.
Environmentalists largely welcomed the changes adopted Thursday, considering them long overdue.
Trout Unlimited President Chris Wood said conservation was already part of the land bureau’s mission under the 1976 Federal Lands Policy Management Act. The new rule, he said, was “a re-statement of the obvious.”
He said he is happy to see the agency acknowledging that conservation is an important use of our public lands, as the law already states.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a strong critic of Biden, announced on Thursday that he plans to introduce a law to overturn the public lands rule. He claimed that it would prevent access to areas in Wyoming that are essential for mineral production, grazing, and recreation.
He said that President Biden is allowing federal bureaucrats to ruin their way of life.
However, Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva of New Mexico stated that the protection of public lands has broad support among the American people.
Grijalva said that oil, gas, and mining companies have had too much control over our public lands for a long time.
Officials stated that restoration leases will not be granted if they would clash with existing activity on a piece of land. They also mentioned that private industry could benefit from the program by purchasing leases and restoring the land to offset any damage they might cause to other government-owned properties.
The agency originally referred to these leases as “conservation leases” in their proposal last year. This was changed to “restoration leases” and “mitigation leases” in the final rule, but their purpose seems mostly the same.
While the bureau previously issued leases for conservation purposes in specific cases, it has never had a dedicated program for it.
Bureau Director Tracy Stone-Manning has said the changes address the rising challenges of climate change and development. She told The Associated Press when the changes were announced last year that making conservation an ‘equal’ to other uses would not interfere with grazing, drilling, and other activities.
Former President Donald Trump attempted to increase fossil fuel development on bureau lands, before President Joe Biden halted new oil and gas leasing when he took office. Biden later reinstated the deals to gain support for the 2022 climate law.
