Official announcement cites goal of “restoring balanced, multiple-use management”
The Department of the Interior announced September 10 plans to rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule, a move that could affect management of the 1.8 million acres overseen by the Moab Field Office, including popular recreation areas around Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.
The announcement aligns with Secretary Doug Burgum’s stated commitment to “restoring balance in federal land management by prioritizing multiple-use access, empowering local decision-making and supporting responsible energy development, ranching, grazing, timber production and recreation,” according to the official press release.
Utah’s Congressional Republicans have previously introduced legislation targeting the Public Lands Rule. Representative Celeste Maloy (UT-02) and Senator John Curtis (R-UT) co-sponsored the WEST Act, which would require BLM to withdraw the rule.
Administration’s Rationale
“The previous administration’s Public Lands Rule had the potential to block access to hundreds of thousands of acres of multiple-use land – preventing energy and mineral production, timber management, grazing and recreation across the West,” said Secretary Doug Burgum in the announcement. “The most effective caretakers of our federal lands are those whose livelihoods rely on its well-being. Overturning this rule protects our American way of life and gives our communities a voice in the land that they depend on.”
The Interior Department characterized the 2024 rule as having “made conservation (i.e., no use) an official use of public lands, putting it on the same level as BLM’s other uses of public lands.”
Under the proposed rollback, areas that could see increased energy development, mining, or grazing include BLM lands surrounding Moab’s recreation corridors, though specific management changes would be determined through future planning processes.
Conservation Groups Respond
Utah conservation organizations quickly condemned the proposal.
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) responded in a September 9 press release, with legal director Steve Bloch stating: “The Public Lands Rule reiterates that the Bureau of Land Management has to put conservation on equal footing with other uses and laid out a framework for the agency to restore degraded landscapes and protect intact public lands for current and future generations.”
The Mountain Pact, representing over 100 western mountain communities with recreation-based economies, criticized the proposal in a September 9 press release.
“Mountain communities celebrated last year when the BLM committed to a more balanced approach to public lands management for the West,” said Anna Peterson, The Mountain Pact’s executive director. “By proposing to roll back the BLM Public Lands Rule, President Trump and Secretary Burgum are tarnishing that legacy, and jeopardizing all the positives for our communities that would have come with it.”
How to Participate in Public Comment
The Interior Department will open a 60-day public comment period on the proposed rescission following publication of a Federal Register notice. Grand County residents can submit comments online at federalregister.gov or by mail to the addresses listed in the Federal Register notice.
Comments should focus on specific examples of how the rule change would affect local recreation, economy, or land management. Public comments become part of the official record and must be considered in the final decision-making process.
The comment period provides an opportunity for local voices to weigh in on management of lands that directly affect daily life in the Moab area, from recreation access to scenic viewsheds.
What the Rule Established
The original Public Lands Rule, formally known as the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, established national land health standards, prioritized restoration projects, and created new tools for protecting critical environmental areas while maintaining multiple-use management of BLM lands.
The rule includes provisions for Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, restoration and mitigation leasing, and watershed condition assessments, according to the BLM website.
In the Moab area, this framework has influenced planning processes and project reviews for the lands surrounding the community’s recreation-based economy.
Conservation groups say they are prepared to defend the rule through litigation and public advocacy campaigns during the comment period and beyond.
The proposed rescission would need to complete the federal rulemaking process, including review of public comments, before any changes to current BLM management practices would take effect.
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