BLM to Rescind Conservation Rule on Public Land – Conservation No Longer a Co-equal Goal.

The Bureau of Land Management will rescind a key Biden-era conservation rule on June 11.

“People want these lands managed for conservation, for future generations, for wildlife habitat, for clean water, and for the products we get off of them today in a balanced way. The [Trump] administration is absolutely not listening to what the public wants.”

Tracy Stone-Manning, former BLM director

The BLM’s decision reverses the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, which treated conservation as a co-equal use of public lands alongside mining, grazing, and energy development. This marks a structural shift toward prioritizing energy extraction on federally managed lands.

The rescission eliminates mechanisms such as restoration and mitigation leasing that could have limited resource development, resetting BLM’s guidelines to policies dating back to 1983 under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The Trump administration, which had blocked the Biden rule before it took effect, actively rolled back conservation efforts using the Congressional Review Act, with support from states including Montana and industry groups. The Blue Ribbon Coalition praised the move as a victory for multiple use and access, while former BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning criticized it as favoring energy dominance over balanced land management.

BLM headquarters announced the final rule on May 12 and will implement the rescission on June 11.

Montana stakeholders may find this shift significant, given the state’s extensive public lands and energy interests. The rollback could ease regulatory barriers for development, though it may also heighten tensions over land use priorities in a region where conservation and resource extraction have long competed. Montana’s business community might weigh these changes carefully as they consider future investments and environmental responsibilities.

Trump, Burgum Rescind Public Lands Rule
By Robert Chaney, Mountain Journal, Montana Free Press