The Biden Administration has stepped up its efforts to permanently protect the lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). In April, they issued two notices initiating the process for authorizing new planning rules to govern the management of the federal lands — rules that will facilitate the Administration’s 30×30 land grab.
American Stewards of Liberty (ASL) has organized a group of counties and organizations to challenge the proposed rules. The “Multiple-Use Alliance” has filed the first round of comments on the BLM proposal and will be filing a second set on the USFS rule this month. This is the first step necessary to formally challenge 30×30 in Federal Court.
All counties, local governments and organizations who want to help stop the lock-up of America’s federal lands are invited to join the Alliance.
BLM Issued Proposed 30×30 Rules, April 3, 2021
On July 5, 2023, the 60-day comment period closed on the Biden Administration’s first major attempt to place 240 million acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under conservation protection. In April, the BLM dropped a set of proposed planning rules without advance notice or local government coordination, while exempting the proposed rule from all regulatory checks and balances.
The effect of the proposed rule, if authorized, will be to implement the Administration’s 30×30 initiative and decarbonization agenda across all BLM managed lands, changing the statutory multiple-use mandate to one protecting the land from future use or production.
In response, ASL brought together a group of counties to challenge the BLM’s action – the “Multiple-Use Alliance.” Substantive comments were filed by the group noticing the agency that its proposed rules lack the necessary legal authority to be authorized. The comments assert:
“On their face, the Proposed Rule radically alter the BLM’s management focus from multiple use-sustained yield to maintaining resilient ecosystems and intact landscapes and recognize that conservation is a land use on par with livestock grazing, mineral exploration and development, timber production, and outdoor recreation. Therefore, there must be a very clear expression in FLPMA that Congress intended to authorize these extreme modifications. Such authority does not exist and, as in the cases discussed above, the adoption of the Proposed Rule will be unlawful.” (Page 5)
The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) and the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment (CEI) joined ASL and the counties in submitting these comments.
The Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, Dan Newhouse (R-WA) penned a joint op-ed with ASL that was published by The Washington Times, challenging the Administration’s efforts to implement 30×30 by rule making. In addition to this, Republican Congressional leaders have publicly opposed the BLM’s action, including holding a full committee hearing on a bill to rescind the rule.
USFS Issued Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making on April 21, 2023
Along with the BLM’s recent action, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making, indicating they will be preparing similar rules to apply to the National Forests. The objective of the new rule is to change the purpose of these lands from timber production to mitigating climate change, which ultimately will lead to no production.
The Multiple-Use Alliance is also preparing comments to submit on the USFS Advance Notice due July 20th.
Join the Alliance
We are asking that you contact your county, local governments, State agencies, and organizations and encourage them to join the Multiple-Use Alliance. We organized the group so that robust and substantive responses could be made by a united group representing all industries, including recreation, grazing, forestry, mineral development, and oil and gas.
ASL led a similar effort when the BLM attempted to revise the land management planning rules during the Obama Administration. Known as “BLM Planning 2.0,” these rules would have had a similar impact on the local economies. The group of counties filed Kane County Utah vs. DOI as a result. Fortunately, Congress rescinded the Obama rules using the Congressional Review Act, ending the case and the implementation of the rules.
Currently, the counties leading the Multiple-Use Alliance are: Chaves County, NM; Garfield County, CO; Garfield County UT; Jackson County, CO; Kane County, UT; Lea County, NM; Modoc County, CA; Moffat County, CO; Otero County, NM; and San Juan County, UT.
The Alliance has retained Natural Resource Law Attorney, Norman James, Director with Fennemore Law in Phoenix, Arizona, to develop the comments and legal strategy. James was also the lead attorney on the BLM Planning 2.0 case.
If you know of a county, local government, State agency or organization that will be impacted by the restricted use of our BLM and USFS managed lands, please let them know about the Alliance and encourage them to join with us.
If you would like to support this effort and help prevent the lock up of our federal lands, please consider contributing to ASL today. Your gifts will help us stop the 30×30 agenda — on federal and private lands.
Thank you for standing up for this great nation, for defending our constitutionally protected property rights, and for helping us fight 30×30.
