The Department of the Interior has suggested ideas and methods for the modernization of the Bureau of Land Management’s public land planning rules. The changes proposed serve the purpose of better aligning the BLM’s processes with current law and increasing efficiency in planning processes, specifically to align with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.
Adopted in 1979, the first BLM land use planning regulation’s rules have only seen two updates in the span of over 45 years. The proposed updates would include less “red tape” through the elimination of duplicate requirements, simplification of the planning process and updating planning terminology.
Other changes would include more BLM flexibility with Areas of Critical Environmental Concern by sizing these areas to focus their efforts on areas that need special care for important and valuable resources.
The DOI and the BLM have been working together to make control over these lands more local and less in Washington to empower local and state leaders.
“The current planning process is too slow, too complicated and weighed down by outdated requirements,” said Steve Pearce, the director of the BLM. “These proposed changes would help the BLM make decisions more efficiently, reduce costs for taxpayers and improve coordination with the people and communities that rely on public lands.”
The DOI’s current priority is selling off public lands to local governments, states and tribes to decrease the federal estate size. This is under the Trump Administration and is the strategic plan for 2026-2030. This plan, however, has been met with resistance, as many groups have claimed that these plans are to leave national parks and public lands vulnerable as the DOI loses its power.
These proposed rules will be published next week in the Federal Register and will be opened to a public comment period of 60 days.
For more information on these rules and updates, click here.
Author: Talmage Fairbanks
Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, Cedar City field office.
Editor: Lainey Porter
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