Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Industry leaders and associations representing rural America released statements denouncing the Biden Administration’s recent Conservation and Landscape Health final rule from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

National Mining Association President & CEO Rich Nolan: “This rule flies in the face of the government’s legal obligation to manage public lands for multiple uses – both protecting the environment and managing federal lands in ways that recognize the need for domestic sources of minerals. By putting its thumb on the scales to strongly favor conservation over other uses, this rule will obstruct responsible domestic mining projects and compound permitting challenges, further deepening our already grave foreign mineral import reliance.”

American Exploration & Mining Association Executive Director Mark Compton: “The BLM’s Conservation and Landscape Health rule is illegal, unnecessary, and contrary to numerous policy goals of the Biden administration and Congress. Our risky reliance on imported minerals is a direct result of five decades of ignoring Congress’ clear directives that minerals should be mined from public lands to help satisfy the Nation’s need for minerals. The Biden administration’s own goals of fighting climate change and reducing carbon emissions require more domestic mining – not less. The rule significantly changes the way BLM manages the 245 million acres of public land it oversees, to the detriment of America’s mineral and energy independence goals and resource dependent rural communities that produce the fiber, food, minerals, and energy America requires from its public lands. Make no mistake, our members are strong supporters of conservation, not only for public lands but all of the country’s resources, and are ready to work with the BLM to further advance these goals. However, this will not be accomplished by the flawed and illegal provisions in this rule.”

Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma: “The conservation rule violates basic public lands laws, particularly the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Taylor Grazing Act, and the Mineral Leasing Act. It also is contrary to the will of Congress when it overturned a BLM planning rule using the Congressional Review Act. The rule seeks to upend the balance that Congress and the Interior Department over many decades achieved on multiple-use public lands that are appropriate for productive uses such as energy, grazing, mining, and recreation. This is a classic example of overreach by the Biden Administration, which has no problem ignoring basic law, and would be detrimental to rural communities all across the West that rely on responsible economic development on non-park, non-wilderness public lands. We have no choice but to litigate.”

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Mark Eisele: “The BLM has a statutory responsibility to ensure multiple use on our nation’s public lands, which includes livestock grazing. It is extremely concerning that this rule makes serious additions to the leasing structure for federal lands without authorization or direction from Congress. Changes that aren’t based in law not only compromise the security of grazing on the landscape but make cohesive management much more challenging. Ranchers have always and will always be serious partners in conservation and sensible land management but after a year of feedback from agricultural organizations and local stakeholders, BLM has decided to move forward with the most concerning parts of this proposal.”

Public Lands Council President Mark Roeber: “The work ranchers and permittees do every day is conservation and crucial to landscape health across the West. Our priority continues to be defending grazing across the West, and despite our repeated warnings to the BLM, the agency is forging ahead with a rule that threatens their ability to make sure even the most basic of functions can be delivered in a timely way. The devil is in the details and what we’ve seen so far is a rule that makes engagement in sage grouse discussions and others so much more complicated. The timing of this rule disenfranchises permittees who are working to be good partners and engage in other conservation efforts by increasing uncertainty and liability from extremists who only want to bully livestock producers off of working landscapes.”

American Exploration & Production Council CEO Anne Bradbury: “AXPC companies support and encourage proper land management and conservation, but this latest rule is inconsistent with and outside the bounds of BLM’s statutory authority, and is part of the Biden administration’s playbook to restrict American energy production. BLM’s land-management authority is derived from the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and Mineral Leasing Act, and this rule amounts to an attempt by the administration to go around Congress to prevent reasonable mineral development that has been previously directed and authorized by Congress. AXPC is evaluating the next possible steps to address this flawed rule.”

Essential Minerals Association President Chris Greissing: “Our nation’s federal lands exist to serve many purposes, as are specified in federal legislation. Mining essential minerals that we depend upon for our everyday lives is one of those purposes. It is extremely disappointing that the political officials at BLM are issuing a rule that not only exceeds their lawful authority, but also essentially blocks off large swaths of federal lands for responsible use by the minerals industry. Clearly, this is an effort to lock up federal lands from historically legal and purposeful uses. It goes against the Biden Administration’s stated goals of transitioning to a green energy economy, which is dependent upon domestically sourced minerals. And it is a threat to the minerals industry and the economic contributions of many EMA members.”

American Stewards of Liberty Executive Director Margaret Byfield: “This rule is a blatant attempt to fulfill the Biden Administration’s unauthorized 30x30 target. It is designed to eliminate the statutorily guaranteed multiple-uses in order to grow ‘ecosystem services’ and monetize natural processes — something they failed to accomplish when Conservatives defeated the ‘Natural Asset Companies (NACs).’ The Agency has circumvented every required rulemaking process because they know had they followed the law, the rule would have never made it to final publication. This action exposes the arrogance and lawlessness of the BLM — defying Congress and the Constitutional rights of States, local governments and American citizens who are guaranteed the productive use of these lands.”