Trump administration cancels rule that made conservation a ‘use’ of public lands
ABC News: Politics — 2026-05-12 01:20:00 — abcnews.com
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Interior Department is canceling a rule that put conservation on equal footing with development, as President Donald Trump’s administration eases restrictions on industries and seeks to boost drilling, logging, mining, and grazing on taxpayer-owned land. The 2024 rule adopted under former President Joe Biden was meant to refocus the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management, which oversees about 10% of land in the U.S. It allowed public property to be leased for restoration in the same way that oil companies lease land for drilling.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has stated that the rule could have blocked access to hundreds of thousands of acres of land, preventing energy and timber production and hurting ranchers who graze on public lands. Supporters of the rule argued that conservation had long been a secondary consideration at the land bureau, neglecting its mission under the 1976 Federal Lands Policy Management Act. While the bureau previously issued leases for conservation purposes in limited cases, it never had a dedicated program prior to the Biden administration.
Bobby McEnaney with the Natural Resources Defense Council said repealing the rule “means less protection for the clean drinking water, less protection for endangered wildlife that depend on healthy habitat, and less accountability when corporations leave these landscapes damaged and degraded.” In documents released Monday, administration officials indicated that the rule exceeded the land bureau’s authority for outside parties to be allowed to obtain conservation leases.
Industry groups and their Republican allies in Congress strongly opposed the rule and had lobbied to repeal it, claiming that the change under Biden violated the “multiple use” mandate for Interior Department lands by elevating the “non-use” of federal lands—meaning restoration leases—to a position of prominence. Dan Naatz with the Independent Petroleum Association of America stated, “This action provides greater clarity and predictability for independent oil and natural gas producers—many of whom rely on consistent permitting and leasing processes to operate efficiently and invest in domestic energy supply.”
The federal government’s vast land holdings are concentrated in Western states including Alaska, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Since taking office, Trump has pursued a flurry of actions aimed at boosting fossil fuel production from those taxpayer-owned sites. The Republican administration also sought to sideline some renewable energy projects, claiming they were unfairly subsidized under Biden. The repeal is effective 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register, which was scheduled for Tuesday. It comes after Republicans in Congress recently canceled land management plans adopted in the closing days of Biden’s administration that restricted development in large areas of Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota. In addition to its surface land holdings, the Bureau of Land Management regulates publicly owned underground mineral reserves—such as coal for power plants and lithium for renewable energy—across more than 1 million square miles. The bureau has a history of industry-friendly policies and for more than a century has sold grazing permits and oil and gas leases.
### How this sits against verifiable accuracy
The excerpt discusses the cancellation of a conservation rule by the Interior Department, which was implemented during the Biden administration. It highlights the implications of this cancellation, including potential impacts on energy production and conservation efforts. The statements attributed to Trump indicate a focus on boosting fossil fuel production and easing restrictions on industries operating on public lands.
### What the excerpt shows about verifiable lies
No verifiable lies are presented in the excerpt.
### Targets and tone
The excerpt does not show Trump singling out, insulting, demeaning, threatening, or speaking in a hostile way about specific people or groups.
In summary, the cancellation of the conservation rule reflects a significant policy shift under the Trump administration, prioritizing industrial development over conservation efforts on public lands.