Some good news for Earth Day: Last week the BLM released its final Public Lands Rule. This rule manages 245 million acres of public lands. This management will exist for the next several decades.

The Final Public Lands Rule gives guidance to the BLM to take into account choices for long term management of public lands. This means the BLM manages the lands and waters for conservation and recreational benefits on lands managed by the BLM. This management will prioritize manage to find solutions for invasive species, rehabilitate damaged and degraded lands and waters, and work to ensure active and critical wildlife corridors are protected.

From the news release from the Outdoor Alliance:

BLM lands are home to outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities, many of them offering a freedom of travel and exploration that are unique on our public lands. BLM lands are also under more stress than ever. Climate change, the demands of a transition to renewable energy, and growing recreational use will add to the stresses from uses like mining, grazing, and energy development. Unprecedented drought, increasingly intense fires, wildlife loss, and invasive species are affecting BLM lands and our outdoor recreation experiences on them. Outdoor recreation is growing in popularity, and visits to BLM lands are increasing. And as the country shifts toward clean energy, BLM lands will need to support solar development, renewable energy, and transmission.

The Public Lands Rule, out today, is an effort by BLM to put conservation on an equal footing with other uses of public land and make sure that BLM can achieve its multiple-use mandate into the future.

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To support and comment on the BLM's Public Lands Rule, follow this link.

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Abou the BLM Public Lands Rule:

The Public Lands Rule will help safeguard the health of our public lands for current and future generations by ensuring that we:

Protect clean water and wildlife habitat, restore lands and waters that need it, and make informed management decisions based on science, data and Indigenous knowledge.

The rule recognizes conservation as an essential component of public lands management on equal footing with other multiple uses of these lands. Americans rely on public lands to deliver food, energy, clean air and water, wildlife habitat, and places to recreate.

The BLM knows the importance of balancing the use of our natural resources with protecting public lands and waters for future generations. The Public Lands Rule will safeguard these lands and waters to protect our way of life, both now and in the future.

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