Legislators question lack of BLM outreach: BLM rule change would incorporate conservation into public lands management

For decades Dave Belus and his family have ranched across Johnson County, grazing their cattle on a patchwork of private and Bureau of Land Management land.

But as the BLM moves toward a new Public Lands Rule that could put land conservation on an equal footing with other uses, ranchers like Belus are questioning the impact to their business and way of life.

“I think the best stewards of the land are the landowners,” said Belus, who operates the Belus Brothers Ranch. “Most of the BLM land in this part of Wyoming is intermingled with the private land. To do conservation, they would have to fence those lands out. That would be a huge cost to the federal government.”

As the Public Lands Rule moves through the public comment period before possible finalization in 2024, Wyoming’s congressional delegation and local officials are concerned that the BLM is not doing enough to reach out to those impacted by a possible meteoric shift in land-use policy.

The draft of the Public Lands Rule was put forward at the end of March, 

period. The biggest shift in the rule is that conservation would be placed on “equal footing” with other uses, meaning that conservation would be formally recognized as a “use” of BLM land, according to the federal agency.

In particular, the rule mentions that climate change is increasing stress on natural environments, underscoring the need for new management tools.

Aside from the larger shift toward conservation that the rule represents, the proposal would also open up the possibility of conservation leasing. In effect, an external entity – such as a nonprofit – could request to lease a certain portion of BLM lands for “restoration or mitigation outcomes.”

As an example, BLM pointed to the degradation of the sagebrush biome. Due to climate change and land degradation, roughly 1.3 million acres of sagebrush habitat is degraded annually. According to a BLM Frequently Asked Questions sheet on the Public Lands Rule, conservation groups could lease and then restore and mitigate the impacts to sagebrush habitat.

“What this issue aims to do is clarify that conservation is one of many uses that BLM is going to manage for under their multiple-use mandate,” said Meghan Riley, a public lands and wildlife advocate with the Wyoming Outdoor Council. “It will give more balance to the whole suite of values the agency is managing for.”

She said that, in the past, conservation had taken a back seat to other uses under the multiple-use land mandate that BLM must manage for.

She also mentioned that conservation leasing could be a way for industry to offset other impacts.

“I don’t think there is anyone who thinks that this rule would create a moratorium on other uses,” Riley said. “It just helps us prioritize values on the landscape, such as if there’s really important habitat for big-game species.”

Riley said that Wyoming Outdoor Council was in favor of many provisions in the rule and would soon be putting in public comment concerning the rule.

But others in Wyoming are concerned about the impact of the new rule on economic development.

“This is a significant change for how the BLM would operate, and given that so much of Wyoming, both land and mineral estate, is owned by the federal government, it could have serious implications for the oil and gas industry,” said Ryan McConnaughey, the vice president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming.

BLM lands generated $18.5 billion in economic output and supported 55,339 jobs in Wyoming in 2022, according to the BLM. That is half of Wyoming’s gross domestic product.

McConnaughey also voiced concern about the proposed conservation leases. He said that the leases could be used by conservation groups to stop all sorts of development on public lands. The Petroleum Association of Wyoming, along with a slew of other groups, such as the Wyoming County Commissioners Association and the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, sent a letter to the BLM asking for an extension of the public comment period.

U.S. Sen. John Barrasso R-Wyo., said that he will “do everything in my power to stop this proposal,” in a press release after the draft rule was presented at the end of March. 

Barrasso introduced a bill that would require the BLM to pull the proposed rule. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., is a cosponsor.

Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., also voiced concerns that the BLM was hosting so few public meetings on the proposed rule change. Of the five meetings on the calendar, only three are in person. Those three meetings are in Denver; Reno, Nevada; and Alburquerque, New Mexico, hundreds of miles away from most Wyomingites. 

After the public comment period ends on June 20, the BLM will review public comments. As of May 30, over 46,000 comments had been submitted on the ruling at regulations.gov.

According to Riley, the BLM will probably not move toward finalizing the rule until spring 2024.

“I don’t want those environmental groups to come in and lease that land and just let it sit there,” said rancher Belus, who stressed the positive working relationship with the BLM. “A lot of the land is really healthy, and it looks like it did 100 years ago, just with fence.”