July 25, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Conservation Groups Take Legal Action to Defend Common Sense Land Management Rule – 7.26.24
Groups intervene to block Utah and Wyoming lawsuit against Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule
Contacts:
Steve Bloch, Legal Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (801) 859-1552; steve@suwa.org
Michael Carroll, BLM Campaign Director, The Wilderness Society (TWS); 970-946-9042; michael_carroll@tws.org
Charlotte Overby, Vice President of Conservation Field Programs at the Conservation Lands Foundation (CLF); (573) 356-9493; char@conservationlands.org
Salt Lake City, UT – Yesterday, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), The Wilderness Society (TWS), and the Conservation Lands Foundation (CLF) filed a motion to intervene in federal court to defend the Bureau of Land Management’s recently finalized Public Land Rule. The motion comes in response to a case and motion for preliminary injunction filed by the states of Utah and Wyoming that seeks to prevent the BLM from implementing the rule which went into effect in June after a year-long process to engage the public in its development. Conservation groups celebrated the finalization of the rule, which was overwhelmingly supported during the comment period, and are now engaging to defend it from attacks.
“Instead of seeing the Public Lands Rule as a way to work with BLM on shared conservation goals, the State of Utah and its leaders are fighting these efforts at every turn,” said Stephen Bloch, SUWA Legal Director. “This lawsuit is out of touch with the majority of Utahns who support conservation and know climate change is a serious problem. Utah is predicted to be hit particularly hard by the impacts of a hotter, drier, and more unpredictable climate. The Public Lands Rule gives BLM and the public a framework and important tools to begin work to stem the tide.”
“The lawsuit and preliminary injunction request by Utah and Wyoming constitute a vote to let big fossil fuel and development interests keep pulling the strings and set the agenda for how we use our natural resources. The BLM public lands rule, meanwhile, seeks the balanced approach prescribed for the agency by Congress almost a half-century ago,” said Alison Flint, senior legal director at The Wilderness Society. “The Wilderness Society has worked for nearly 90 years to defend public lands. Continuing that work entails vigorously defending the public lands rule so we can meet the challenges of a hotter, drier and more crowded future in the American West.”
“What we find most disappointing and puzzling about Utah and Wyoming’s lawsuit against the Rule is that it appears to be motivated by their fear of implementing existing law – the Federal Land Policy and Management Act – and the will of the people,” said Charlotte Overby, Vice President of Conservation Field Programs at the Conservation Lands Foundation. “Legal experts, including eight state attorneys general and 27 law professors, have repeatedly confirmed that the Rule upholds BLM’s core mission and it was shaped by a robust public process with more than 90% of public comments in support. It also has the support of many western lawmakers, local elected officials, governors, and opinion leaders, who understand that this new guidance is needed to keep important recreation areas – that are also local economic engines – accessible to the public, improve ecological and climate resilience, and provide the tools managers need to restore these public lands from wildfires, droughts, and other negative impacts.”
On June 18, 2024, the States of Utah and Wyoming filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Utah over the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) recently finalized Public Lands Rule. Federal lawsuits have also been filed by the states of North Dakota, Idaho, and Montana in North Dakota, and industry groups have filed a third action in Wyoming. Among other things, the Rule reiterates that conservation is part of the BLM’s multiple-use mission and ensures that the agency will manage for this use on a day-in and day-out basis.
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Background Information:
The Public Lands Rule, currently in effect, establishes a “… framework to ensure healthy landscapes, abundant wildlife habitat, clean water, and balanced decision-making on our nation’s public lands.”
- BLM’s webpage on the Public Lands Rule.
- SUWA’s June 18, 2024 Statement when litigation was filed by the States of Utah & Wyoming
- SUWA’s April 18, 2024 Statement when the Final Rule was announced.
- “The BLM Public Lands Rule is a common-sense solution” June 25, 2023 Editorial from the Salt Lake Tribune
- March 30, 2023 SUWA Statement on the Proposed Rule; Advocacy Action from SUWA during the public comment period
- Information regarding public comments received by BLM – 92% of which were supportive.
- Utah-specific polling data from the 2024 Conservation in the West Poll, which shows a clear and resounding preference for conservation when voters are given a choice over how public lands are used.
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards this world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.
The Wilderness Society has been working since 1935 on uniting people to protect America’s wild places. With more than one million members and supporters, The Wilderness Society has led the effort to protect permanently nearly 112 million acres of wilderness in 44 states and ensure public lands’ sound management. We have been at the forefront of nearly every major public lands victory.
Conservation Lands Foundation leads the national movement of community-based advocates to protect, restore and expand National Conservation Lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. CLF is headquartered in Durango, Colorado with field offices throughout the West and in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit conservationlands.org.
