A Look at BLM’s New Public Lands Rule and Other Management Policies
Collected resources on the agency’s move to put conservation, recreation on equal footing with other uses
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees a quarter of a billion acres of U.S. public lands, more than any other federal agency. Federal law requires the BLM to revise, every two decades, the management plans for each of the more than 100 areas under its jurisdiction.
The BLM’s mission, as determined by Congress, is to manage public landscapes to support multiple uses and the sustained yield, or long-term health and sustainability, of their natural resources. Historically, however, BLM policy has prioritized extractive activities, such as mining, oil and gas exploration, and other development, over conservation and outdoor recreation. As a result, more than 90% of BLM lands were open to development as of the end of 2023. But in 2023, the BLM issued draft regulations to put conservation on equal footing with these other uses.
The agency has also released several updated place-based management plans in 2024 that provide greater protections for existing public lands and rivers in eastern Colorado and southeast Oregon that are ecologically significant.
The research and analysis collected here explore the draft regulation, the focus of updated land use plans, and how those plans serve communities, wildlife, and nature.
