Deadline to comment on – BLM wipe-out of it’s Biden Era – Conservation & Landscape Health Rule

Federal Register Notice & Comment Submission

• Title: Rescission of Conservation and Landscape Health Rule

• Published: September 11, 2025 Federal Register

• Docket / RIN: RIN 1004-AF03 Federal Register

• Affected CFR parts: 43 CFR parts 1600 and 6100 Federal Register

• Comment deadline: November 10, 2025 Federal Register

• Addresses for submitting comments:

  • Mail / Personal / Messenger: U.S. Department of the Interior, Director (630), Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C St. NW, Room 5646, Washington, DC 20240, Attention: 1004-AF03 Federal Register
  • Federal eRulemaking Portal: via Regulations.gov, search “BLM-2025-0001” Federal Register+1

• Link to the official FR notice page: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/09/11/2025-17537/rescission-of-conservation-and-landscape-health-rule

• Link to a sign-on group letter, signing on due at 11 am Monday Nov 10th https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScgYQArRYoiT8fbjVwtS8lVYpUgcF-Wt3QRBv4s4TKGOSfG5A/viewform
• At the bottom are links to alerts from NGOs and some pre-fab comment letters
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• What BLM Proposes to Rescind / Remove

  In the rescission proposal, BLM wants to wipe out the Conservation & Landscape Health Rule in full. Here’s what would change or disappear:

  1. Rescind the rule’s codified provisions

     • All regulations in 43 CFR parts 1600 and 6100 tied to the 2024 rule would be removed. Federal Register

     • BLM would abandon the leasing tools specific to restoration leases and mitigation leases. Federal Register+2Inside Climate News+2

  2. Return to prior multiple-use emphasis

     • BLM argues the 2024 rule went beyond statutory authority by elevating conservation (i.e. non-use) into a use. The rescission argues that “conservation is not a ‘use’” under FLPMA, and that the rule constrained flexibility. Federal Register+2The Wilderness Society+2

     • They assert that BLM already has adequate tools under FLPMA and that the additional provisions are unnecessary or legally questionable. Inside Climate News+3Federal Register+3The Wilderness Society+3

  3. Remove the balancing / prioritization shifts

     • The rule’s mandate that conservation / restoration receive equal consideration would be nullified.

     • Many of the constraints or decision criteria added to prioritize ecological health / intact landscapes would no longer bind BLM.

     • BLM would not be obligated to integrate restoration and mitigation leases or invest in restoration as a formal tool across planning.

  4. Impacts on stakeholder influence

     • The rescission could reduce formal role for conservation entities in land restoration and mitigation roles.

     • It may shift decision power more back toward development and resource-use interests, with less formal checks for ecological health.

     • Environmental / recreational interest voices might need to rely more on plan-level challenges, litigation, or NEPA processes rather than the rule’s scaffolding.

  What’s at Stake / Why It Matters

  • Rolling back the rule weakens the institutional backing for conservation and restoration on BLM lands.

  • It reduces the regulatory guarantee that conservation goals must be weighed seriously in multiple-use decisions.

  • Restoration and mitigation leasing tools would be lost, removing a mechanism NGOs, tribes or others could use to advance ecosystem repair.

  • Many areas without robust protections would face increased pressure from resource extraction, grazing, mining, or energy development with fewer institutional constraints.

  • Critics argue the rescission undermines the BLM’s capacity to respond to climate change, biodiversity loss, landscape connectivity, wildfire resilience, and ecological degradation.

• Here are some articles, action alerts, or press releases about this rollback move:

• • America the Beautiful Coalition:
  • “The Public Lands Rule modernizes how the Bureau of Land Management manages nearly 250 million acres of public land — ensuring conservation, Indigenous knowledge, and community well-being are considered alongside development…….On November 4th, we convened a Community Briefing with leaders from Conservation Lands Foundation, New Mexico Wild, Native Land Institute, and The Conservation Alliance. View the webinar and clips on our blog. Panelists explain what’s at stake and how you can take action before it’s too late.
     
    The Public Lands Rule Comment Period closes on Monday, November 10. 
    1. 🧰Use our Advocacy Toolkit to Act! Use this toolkit to submit comments and organize your friends and community by November 10.
    2. 📝Sign-on to ATB4A’s Coalition letter here.
    3. 🌲Follow Act Now for Public Lands to stay up to speed and learn more about the Public Lands Rule. You can also submit a public comment through this link.
    This is our moment to mobilize. Please join us—and share widely to ensure communities across the country raise their voices.”

  • Wilderness Society
    — “BLM Public Lands Rule rollback proposal announced; 60-day comment period to follow” (Sept 10, 2025) — press release. The Wilderness Society

  • National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA)
    — “BLM Moves to Roll Back Public Lands Rule, Threatening National Parks and Public Access” — an alert / article about the rescission. National Parks Conservation Association

  • Interior / Department of the Interior
    — Official press: “Interior Proposes to Rescind Public Lands Rule, Restoring Balanced Multiple-Use” (Sept 30, 2025) — BLM/Interior’s own announcement. U.S. Department of the Interior
    — BLM press: “Rescission of Conservation and Landscape Health Rule” — with comment solicitation. Bureau of Land Management

  • Action Alert — New Mexico Wilderness (NMWild)
    — “Action Alert: Save the Public Lands Rule” — includes a comment prompt and tells people to “comment below by November 10!” New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

  • Works for Nature
    — A tracker & action guide: “Action Alert: Comment to save the Public Lands Rule” (updated Sept 30, 2025) with background and a “call to comment.” worksfornature.org

  • Inside Climate News
    — “Trump Administration Moves to Dismantle Conservation as an Essential Use of Public Lands” — analysis of the rollback move and how the public comment period works. Inside Climate News

  • Western Priorities
    — “Interior announces intent to revoke Public Lands Rule” — blog post / commentary. Center for Western Priorities

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  • We are not sure of the time-of-day end point for the comment period, but assume it is just before Midnight Eastern Time, on Nov 10th