Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), chair of the Senate Western Caucus, along with 11 other caucus members, has sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum expressing support for rescinding the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, also known as the Public Lands Rule.
The senators argue that the rule, implemented by the Biden administration in 2023, undermines long-standing multiple-use policies for federal lands. They claim it introduces “conservation” as a land use without congressional approval and could restrict access to millions of acres of public land used for recreation, energy development, livestock grazing, and other activities important to western communities.
In their letter, the senators stated: “Our constituents live with and rely on the use of Federal lands every day. These lands are not abstract reserves to be locked away but working landscapes that provide food, energy, recreation, and cultural heritage. The Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, or Public Lands Rule, (88 Fed. Reg. 19583) attempted to upend this equilibrium by elevating ‘conservation’ to a standalone use of Federal lands – placing it on par with, and in practice above, traditional productive uses such as grazing, mineral development, timber harvest, and recreation. That is not just legally dubious – it is devastating for the West.”
The letter continues: “Since the 2023 Public Lands Rule took effect, we’ve heard from county commissioners, ranchers, energy developers, mining operators, and local businesses who are faced with regulatory ambiguity, exclusionary leases, and a chilling effect that discourages new investment.”
Other signatories include Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Curtis (R-UT), Mike Crapo (R-ID), James Risch (R-ID), Mike Lee (R-UT), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Tim Sheehy (R-MT).
