By MATTHEW BROWN (Associated Press)
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration recently finished a new regulation for managing public land to give conservation equal importance as oil drilling, grazing, and other extractive industries on large government-owned properties.
There was strong opposition from private industry and Republican governors but the proposal was still accepted.
The new rule from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management — which manages more than 380,000 square miles (990,000 square kilometers) of land, mostly in the U.S. West — will allow public property to be leased for restoration similar to how oil companies lease land for drilling.
The rule also encourages the designation of more “areas of critical environmental concern” — a special status that can limit development. This status is 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. In addition to its surface land holdings, the bureau regulates publicly-owned underground mineral reserves — such as coal for power plants and lithium for renewable energy — across more than 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 cheap to lease. They assert the administration is violating the “multiple use” mandate for Interior Department lands, by catapulting 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 in recent weeks tightened vehicle emissions standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, finalized limits on PFAS chemicals in drinking water and increased 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, putting the agency a