Hickenlooper, Huffman Lead 59 Colleagues to Blast Trump Admin’s Decision to Undermine Public Lands

In their latest attack on public lands, the admin restricted efforts to protect and restore BLM land

Public comment on the proposed rescission ends today

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper and Representative Jared Huffman, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, led 59 of their congressional colleagues to demand the Trump administration protect public lands and end its plans to overturn the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Public Lands Rule.

"The American people overwhelmingly support the Public Lands Rule," wrote the lawmakers in their letter to Interior Doug Burgum and BLM Acting Director Bill Groffy. "Rescinding the Public Lands Rule would undermine the long-term resilience of BLM lands at a time when wide-ranging stressors - including climate change, biodiversity and habitat loss, and increasing public demand for access to public lands - require stronger, not weaker, management frameworks."

The Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, or Public Lands Rule, provides the BLM with modern, science-based tools needed to protect the more than 245 million acres of public lands, including 8.3 million acres in Colorado, that the agency manages. Specifically, the rule helps BLM restore degraded landscapes, conserve intact habitats, plan for responsible development, and protect cultural and natural resources.

The Trump administration's announcement to rescind the Public Lands Rule follows their consistent efforts to undermine our public lands and national parks. This summer Democrats defeated congressional Republicans' last-ditch effort to sell off millions of acres of public lands to pay for their tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.

In their letter, the lawmakers highlighted the broad public support for the BLM rule when it was originally proposed. Roughly 92 percent of the more than 150,000 comments submitted were in support and numerous local and state officials, Tribal governments, scientists, businesses, and other stakeholders throughout the West advocated for the rule.

The Wilderness Society, Conservation Lands Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, The Conservation Alliance, Colorado Wildlands Project, CalWild, and more support the lawmakers' effort against the rule change.

"Our support of the Public Lands Rule, which gives BLM the tools for responsible, balanced stewardship of America's public lands, remains unchanged. Rolling this rule back is part of a broader intention to incite chaos and ruin our public lands via sell-offs, expanded oil and gas leasing, and the erosion of management plans that protect public access and wildlife habitat," said Jocelyn Torres, Chief Conservation Officer at the Conservation Lands Foundation. "It shows utter disregard and disrespect to everyone who supports the rule-including Congress, legal experts, former BLM leaders, local officials, nonprofits, and businesses. Instead of pushing this unpopular repeal through during the longest shutdown in American history, BLM ought to be fulfilling its obligation to the public and conservation and move forward with implementing the Public Lands Rule."

"Interior's rationale for repeal is on shaky footing - stating that it believes the rule is unnecessary and violates statutory direction. To the contrary, the Public Lands Rule was informed by many months of thoughtful public engagement and review, and it has solid grounding in a nearly 50-year-old directive from Congress," Alison Flint, Senior Legal Director, The Wilderness Society. "Indeed, it is necessary to ensure compliance with long-standing direction from Congress that protecting undeveloped landscapes, wildlife habitat, and cultural resources is central to BLM's mission. The administration cannot simply overthrow that statutory authority because they would prefer to let drilling and mining companies call the shots."

Hickenlooper supported the BLM rule in 2024 and worked with DOI and BLM to make sure stakeholders such as grazers, Tribes, and the renewables industry were included in the conversation as the rule was finalized.

Full text of the letter available HERE and below.

Dear Secretary Burgum and Acting Director Groffy:

As members of Congress collectively representing twenty-one states and over 112.3 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, we write to express our strong opposition to the Department's proposal to rescind the conservation and Landscape Health Rule, also known as the Public Lands Rule. The Public Lands Rule provides BLM with modern, science-based tools needed to restore degraded landscapes, conserve intact habitats, plan for responsible development, and protect cultural and natural resources on the more than 245 million acres of public land managed by BLM.

Passed by Congress in 1976, the Federal Land Management and Policy Act (FLPMA) mandates that BLM manage its lands for multiple use and sustained yield, which explicitly includes conservation. The clear language of FLPMA states that allowed uses of BLM land include "recreation, range, timber, minerals, watershed, wildlife and fish, and natural scenic, scientific and historical values…". The Public Lands Rule fully reflects this mandate and does not come at the expense of other uses, including grazing and energy development. By providing an updated framework in which grazing, energy development, recreation, timber, wildlife, watershed protection and conservation can all be sustained together, the Public Lands Rule follows the law established by Congress almost 50 years ago and ensures that BLM lands continue to provide a balance of benefits for present and future generations.

Specifically, the Public Lands Rule:

• Advances planning standards for responsible development by establishing fundamentals for land health and watershed assessments, so BLM is able to advance science-based decisions based on high-quality data.

• Fulfills statutory obligations to address Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs), as set by Congress nearly 50 years ago through FLPMA.

• Recognizes and reinforces Tribal sovereignty and co-stewardship, allowing Tribes increased opportunity to meaningfully shape conservation leasing, monitoring programs, and restoration projects on BLM land. The Rule also requires the BLM to consider Indigenous Knowledge when advancing land health standards, monitoring, and decision making.

• Supports and strengthens the $1.2 trillion outdoor recreation economy by ensuring that recreation and ecological health work hand in hand, allowing hunting and fishing outfitters, the broader outdoor recreation industry, rural communities, and main street businesses that rely on healthy public lands to thrive.

The American people overwhelmingly support the Public Lands Rule. The Rule was promulgated in 2024 following extensive public engagement during a 90-day comment period, which garnered 150,000 comments, with 92 percent supporting the adoption of the Rule. In addition to a vast majority of comments being supportive, the Rule also received letters and statements of support from numerous local and state officials, Tribal governments, scientists, businesses, and other stakeholders throughout the West.

Rescinding the Public Lands Rule would undermine the long-term resilience of BLM lands at a time when wide-ranging stressors - including climate change, biodiversity and habitat loss, and increasing public demand for access to public lands - require stronger, not weaker, management frameworks. Rescinding the Rule would also create greater uncertainty for a wide range of stakeholders, including ranchers who rely on healthy rangelands and hunters and anglers, who depend on intact wildlife habitats across BLM lands. Finally, rescinding the Rule would increase administrative strain and reintroduce regulatory gaps, running counter to the Administration's stated goal of improving government efficiency.

We urge you to withdraw the proposed rescission and continue to fully implement the Public Lands Rule. The Rule is critical to meeting BLM's statutory obligations, sustaining and realizing the benefits of multiple uses compatible with public lands, and ensuring these special landscapes remain healthy and productive for all Americans to enjoy for years to come.

Sincerely,

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