https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/11/trump-public-lands-conservation-ruleMove comes as administration seeks to boost drilling, logging, mining and grazing on taxpayer-owned landThe interior department is canceling a rule that put conservation on equal footing with development, as Donald Trump’s administration eases restrictions on industries and seeks to boost drilling, logging, mining and grazing on taxpayer-owned land.The 2024 rule adopted under Joe Biden was meant to refocus the interior department’s Bureau of Land Management, which oversees about 10% of land in the US. It allowed public property to be leased for restoration in the same way that oil companies lease land for drilling.But the interior secretary, Doug Burgum, has said the rule could have blocked access to hundreds of thousands of acres (hectares) of land – preventing energy and timber production and hurting ranchers who graze on public lands.Supporters argued that conservation had long been a secondary consideration at the land bureau, neglecting its mission under the 1976 Federal Lands Policy Management Act. While the bureau previously issued leases for conservation purposes in limited cases, it never had a dedicated program prior to the Biden administration.Bobby McEnaney with the Natural Resources Defense Council said repealing the rule “means less protection for the clean drinking water, less protection for endangered wildlife that depend on healthy habitat, and less accountability when corporations leave these landscapes damaged and degraded”.
>>1514604But the interior secretary, Doug Burgum, has said the rule could have blocked access to hundreds of thousands of acres (hectares) of land – preventing energy and timber production and hurting ranchers who graze on public lands.Supporters argued that conservation had long been a secondary consideration at the land bureau, neglecting its mission under the 1976 Federal Lands Policy Management Act. While the bureau previously issued leases for conservation purposes in limited cases, it never had a dedicated program prior to the Biden administration.Bobby McEnaney with the Natural Resources Defense Council said repealing the rule “means less protection for the clean drinking water, less protection for endangered wildlife that depend on healthy habitat, and less accountability when corporations leave these landscapes damaged and degraded”.In documents released on Monday, administration officials said it exceeded the land bureau’s authority for outside parties to be allowed to obtain conservation leases.Industry groups and their Republican allies in Congress strongly opposed the rule and had lobbied to repeal it. They said the change under Biden violated the “multiple use” mandate for interior department lands by catapulting the “non-use” of federal lands – meaning restoration leases – to a position of prominence.“This action provides greater clarity and predictability for independent oil and natural gas producers – many of whom rely on consistent permitting and leasing processes to operate efficiently and invest in domestic energy supply,” Dan Naatz with the Independent Petroleum Association of America said in a statement.
The federal government’s vast land holdings are concentrated in western states including Alaska, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Since taking office, Trump has pursued a flurry of actions aimed at boosting fossil fuel production from those taxpayer-owned sites. The Republican administration also has sought to sideline some renewable energy projects, claiming they were unfairly subsidized under Biden.The repeal is effective 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register, which was scheduled for Tuesday.It comes after Republicans in Congress in recent months canceled land management plans adopted in the closing days of Biden’s administration that restricted development in large areas of Alaska, Montana and North Dakota.In addition to its surface land holdings, the Bureau of Land Management regulates publicly owned underground mineral reserves – such as coal for power plants and lithium for renewable energy – across more than 1m sq miles (2.5m sq km). The bureau has a history of industry-friendly policies and for more than a century has sold grazing permits and oil and gas leases.
Literally socialism for drilling and mining companies, as long as he gets a kickback.
>>1514604Nothing will be left of this country by the time he's done. He will destroy EVERYTHING we have.
>>1514607This is standard corny capitalism. AKA Capitalism. Socialism would put public lands in the hands of the people so corporations couldn't rape it for profit like we're seeing under conservative rule.
>2024 rule reversed in 2026Oh no, unpresidented!
>>1514608You say this every year, and it keeps getting funnier every single time you say it.
>>1514841do you think there have only been 5 years
>>1514841I don't know what's so funny about it, it keeps being true.
>>1514607>socialism for [...] companiesthe pinnacle of "socialism is anything I don't like"
>>1514877>oil companies get subsurface rights for essentially free while taxpayers continue paying but can no longer recreate on the landit’s more accurate than the things retarded conservatives call socialism
But he's a "conservative"!
