Repealing BLM Public Lands Rule Could Undermine Wildlife Efforts, Advocates Say

Repealing the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule could leave Wyoming’s wildlife at risk, conservation advocates said.

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced its intent to repeal the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 2024 Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, better known as the Public Lands Rule, last week.

Wyoming’s congressional delegation praised the move , saying it would ease unnecessary restrictions on energy exploration, grazing and other extractive uses on hundreds of thousands of acres of federal land in Wyoming and across the West.

The Public Lands Rule favors conservation, which the delegation criticized as essentially cutting those lands off from uses that are vital to local economies in Wyoming.

However, wildlife advocates told Cowboy State Daily the