- Six Democratic AGs submitted a comment letter in opposition to a proposal by the U.S. Department of the Interior to rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s Conservation and Landscape Health Rule (Public Lands Rule).
- The Public Lands Rule recognizes conservation as a valid “use” of federal public lands that is on the same footing as extractive uses such as mining, drilling, and grazing. The Rule also created conservation leasing frameworks to support restoration and climate-mitigation efforts and expanded stakeholder and Tribal engagement in land management decisions.
- In their letter, the AGs argue that the proposed rescission would violate the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act; and also that it is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedures Act.
- The AGs urge the Department to withdraw the proposed rescission and maintain the Public Lands Rule.