Shoshone, CA – Friends of the Amargosa Basin has issued the following public statement from its Executive Director Cameron Mayer expressing disappointment and disapproval over the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) proposed reversal of the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, known widely as the Public Lands Rule.
On September 11th, 2025 the Department of the Interior (DOI), through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), published a notice in the Federal Register stating an intention to roll back the Public Lands Rule, instituted by the previous administration in June 2024 after over two years of collective efforts. The notice went on to elaborate a perspective that the Public Lands Rule is a barrier to proper multiple use of public lands under the authority of the BLM, that is goes beyond the given authority delegated from Congress to the BLM to implement the rule, and links to an executive order from the current DOI Secretary to increase energy production on public lands. The notice will kick off a 60 day public comment period starting on September 11th, 2025 and ending on November 10th.
“The proposed rollback of the Public Lands Rule is inconsistent with the mission of the BLM established through the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). The rule in its current form names conservation as an explicit and legitimate use of public lands, on the same level with other uses, an implied but missing component of original law establishing the bureau. The Public Lands Rule additionally gave a voice to local communities, Tribal Nations, and diverse stakeholders on the ground, and helped to facilitate extractive projects and proposals in areas with lesser conflict. Claims that the rule in its current form prioritizes conservation or “idle use” over other uses, sidelines local voices, and acts as a barrier to permitting energy development and other projects are baseless and not grounded in factual evidence or in-depth analysis.”
“The Secretary of the Interior and BLM are intentionally tilting the scale in favor of uses that treat our public lands in an extractive manner. The Public Lands Rule is not a barrier to carrying out the BLM’s mission, rather it is the necessary ingredient to balance all uses, conservation and otherwise. Further, this is a clear attempt to override broad public opinion, of which 92% of previous commenters supported implementation of the original rule, in favor of a minority of special interests and a vague sense of an energy emergency.”
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Friends of the Amargosa Basin is a 501c3 non-profit organization based in Shoshone, California. Our mission is supporting the diversity of life in the Amargosa Basin by protecting its land, water, and beauty.
A field of Desert sunflowers on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands foreshadows Tecopa Peak outside of Tecopa, CA. photo credit: Bob Wick.