American Stewards of Liberty has announced its support for the proposed rescission of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Public Lands Rule. The organization cites alignment with North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum’s focus on multiple-use access, local control, and resource development. This announcement was made on the organization's website.
The Public Lands Rule, formally known as the Conservation & Landscape Health Rule, was finalized on May 9, 2024. It established that "conservation" is to be considered a use of public lands on equal footing with other uses such as grazing, timber, recreation, energy development, and mineral extraction. According to the Bureau of Land Management, the rule sets out requirements to protect intact landscapes, restore degraded ecosystems, and use science, data, and Indigenous knowledge in planning and management. It also revises regulations governing Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) among other management tools.
The Department of the Interior, under Secretary Doug Burgum's leadership, is now proposing to rescind the Public Lands Rule in full. The proposed rescission claims that the 2024 Rule "exceeded the BLM’s statutory authority" under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) by equating conservation with active uses of land. This move is justified by assertions that the rule created regulatory uncertainty and reduced access to lands while undermining economic activities such as grazing, energy production, recreation, and timber harvesting.
The formal rescission proposal was published in the Federal Register on September 11, 2025. From that date forward, a 60-day public comment period was opened. In that Federal Register notice, BLM states that the 2024 Rule is "unnecessary and violates existing statutory requirements," adding that several leasing provisions interfere with principles of multiple use and sustained yield under FLPMA. The rescission seeks to restore prior regulations in several areas including how ACECs are designated and how public lands are managed under land health standards.
American Stewards of Liberty (ASL), a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to defending private property rights and promoting local decision-making while opposing federal conservation policies it argues limit working lands and traditional land uses. According to ASL’s testimony and materials, they regard the Biden administration’s 30×30 initiative as unauthorized executive overreach threatening ranching, grazing, timber production, recreation, and energy development.
