House Natural Resources Committee
Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee
BLM’s proposed Conservation and Landscape Health rule
On Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at 10:00 a.m., in Room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold an oversight hearing titled “Examining the Biden Administration’s Efforts to Limit Access to Public Lands.”
Witnesses:- Todd Devlin, Prairie County Commissioner, Terry, MT
- Dr. J.J. Goicoechea, DVM, Director, Nevada Department of Agriculture, Sparks, NV
- Travis Lingenfelter, Chairman, Mohave County Board of Supervisors, Kingman, AZ
- Stephanie Garcia Richard, New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Santa Fe, NM
On April 3, 2023, the BLM published in the Federal Register a proposed rule, Conservation and Landscape Health with a 75-day comment period. The proposed rule elevates conservation as a “use” within FLPMA’s multiple-use framework without Congressional authority. The BLM intends to pursue this through so-called conservation leases for both protection and restoration activities. This proposed rule would fundamentally change the way the BLM carries out its multiple use and sustained yield mandates. Numerous stakeholders have expressed concern that the Biden Administration will use this rulemaking to determine currently permitted activities on BLM lands, such as grazing, energy production, and recreation are incompatible with a conservation lease or areas identified as “intact landscapes.”