National Parks at Risk as White House Plans to Cancel Public Lands Conservation Rule
The White House plans to cancel a rule that balanced conservation with industrial use on public lands. This change could harm national parks and limit public access to natural areas.
The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Public Lands Rule was created to fix an imbalance where 80 percent of BLM land is open to oil and gas development, writes the National Parks Conservation Association.
Conservation organizations
The rule gave equal importance to conservation alongside industrial development on public lands. It encouraged partnerships between private groups, tribes, and conservation organizations to restore and protect these areas.
Conservation experts warn that canceling the rule could have serious consequences.
“This expected rescission is not just a bureaucratic rollback but a fundamental rejection of the idea that our public lands should serve all people, not just the extractive industry”, said Beau Kiklis, NPCA’s Associate Director of Energy and Landscape Conservation.
More than 80 national parks are directly next to BLM-managed lands, making them vulnerable to nearby industrial activities.
“People don’t travel from around the world to visit national parks only to see oil rigs on the horizon,” Kiklis added. “Without the public lands rule in place, poorly sited energy development could degrade the very experiences that make places like Canyonlands, Carlsbad Caverns, and the Grand Canyon unforgettable.”
Canceling the rule would ignore input from Tribes, conservation groups, scientists, and local communities who supported stronger protections for public lands.
