Lummis Leads Senate Western Caucus Push to Rescind Public Lands Rule, Defend Multiple-Use of Public Lands

November 10, 2025

Washington, D.C.- Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and 11 Senate Western Caucus members sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum voicing the Senate Western Caucus' support for the proposed rescission of the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, commonly referred to as the Public Lands Rule.

The so-called Public Lands Rule was a brazen attempt by the Biden administration to undermine the multiple-use mandate that has governed our public lands for decades. By illegally adding "conservation" as a land use designation without congressional authorization, this rule threatened to lock up millions of acres of federal land from the multiple-use mandate. This misguided Biden rule seeks to close off our public lands from recreational access, energy development, livestock grazing, and other activities that western communities depend on.

The Senators wrote, "Our constituents live with and rely on the use of Federal lands every day. These lands are not abstract reserves to be locked away but working landscapes that provide food, energy, recreation, and cultural heritage. The Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, or Public Lands Rule, (88 Fed. Reg. 19583) attempted to upend this equilibrium by elevating "conservation" to a standalone use of Federal lands - placing it on par with, and in practice above, traditional productive uses such as grazing, mineral development, timber harvest, and recreation. That is not just legally dubious - it is devastating for the West.

The letter continues, "Since the 2023 Public Lands Rule took effect, we've heard from county commissioners, ranchers, energy developers, mining operators, and local businesses who are faced with regulatory ambiguity, exclusionary leases, and a chilling effect that discourages new investment."

To read the full letter, click here.

Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Curtis (R-UT), Mike Crapo (R-ID), James Risch (R-ID), Mike Lee (R-UT), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), John Hoeven (R-ND), Tim Sheehy (R-MT) all signed the letter.

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