Established in 1946, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is our nation’s largest land manager. Housed in the U.S. Department of the Interior, the BLM oversees the management of roughly 245 million acres of federal public land—representing a tenth of our country’s land and nearly 40% of all U.S. public lands. These shared public lands are home to world-class recreational opportunities, key wildlife habitat, and awe-inspiring landscapes. Although BLM lands have long been managed for “multiple uses” that include mining, drilling, ranching, and conservation, around 90% of BLM lands have remained open to extraction and other development.
In April 2024, the Biden administration released its final Public Lands Rule—a new blueprint for the management of BLM lands that, for the first time, puts conservation on par with extractive activities. The Public Lands Rule allows the BLM to better protect public lands from the dual threats of climate change and development through the protection and restoration of key landscapes that provide clean air and water, critical wildlife habitat, and cultural and recreational access. The Rule also establishes a framework for “restoration leases” that allow the BLM to work with partners to restore degraded lands and “mitigation leases” that provide a mechanism for developers to offset project impacts as a condition of permit approval.
The Public Lands Rule represents a historic shift in how the BLM will manage some of our nation’s most valuable natural assets and we thank the Biden administration for safeguarding the health and resilience of our nation’s public lands.
Learn more about the Public Lands Rule here.