DOI to rescind rule that would have encouraged “no use” on public land

The controversial public lands rule proposed last year by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) may be gone.

The Department of the Interior is moving to repeal the 2024 Public Lands Rule, which would have made “conservation” a legal land use.

Under this rule, applicants would be allowed to pursue land permits with the intention of leaving land untouched and idle, pitting conservation against traditional land uses such as recreation, grazing, logging, mining, a…