Administration to Rescind Public Lands Rule, Potentially Shirking Public Engagement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

April 16, 2025 

Contact: 

Kaden McArthur, Director of Policy & Government Relations, mcarthur@backcountryhunters.org 

Notice of the administration’s intent comes after the suspension of the federal advisory council responsible for overseeing implementation of the Public Lands Rule earlier this year.

Washington, D.C. – Acting on earlier direction from Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to review the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, known as the Public Lands Rule, the Trump administration announced their intent to rescind the Rule. The Public Lands Rule affirms that conserving public land is a legitimate and important use – on equal footing with energy development, timber harvest, grazing, and recreation – under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act; it also encourages innovative partnerships to restore and protect the health of these landscapes for future generations. Rescission of the Rule draws sharp criticism from Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA), which supported the final Rule after an extensive public process that thoughtfully incorporated input from hunters, anglers, and other stakeholders. 

“The notion that the administration may intend to move forward unilaterally without following any public engagement process is deeply troubling,” said Kaden McArthur, director of policy and government relations for BHA. “The Public Lands Rule reflects years of work, including extensive input from stakeholders, to ensure the long-term health of the landscapes we rely on for healthy fish and wildlife habitat. To abandon the Rule in its entirety – and the overwhelming public support behind it – is a direct affront to those who value America’s wild places, and the democratic process used to steward them for the benefit of all of us as public land owners.”

The extended public comment period that helped shape the Rule drew input from thousands of hunters and anglers. In total, more than 90 percent of comments supported the Rule, underscoring the importance conservation of wild places has across the United States. 

The Rule guides the management of 245 million acres of public lands stewarded by the BLM, balancing uses like energy development and grazing with the conservation of vital habitat and intact landscapes that hunters and anglers depend on.

BHA will continue to monitor the review and rescission process adopted by the administration, and advocate for the responsible management of lands and waters owned by all Americans.

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers seeks to ensure North America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands, waters, and wildlife. To learn more about issues important to BHA’s membership, visit www.backcountryhunters.org/our_issues. 

About Nadia Marji

Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers