May 11, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUWA Statement on the Trump Administration’s Rescission of the BLM Public Lands Rule – 5.11.26
The Rule reiterated that conservation is one of many uses of the nation’s public lands
Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Washington, DC – The Department of the Interior has announced the rescission of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Public Lands Rule. Among other things, the Rule reiterated that conservation is a key component of the BLM’s multiple-use mission and ensured that the agency consistently managed for that use. Below is a statement from SUWA Legal Director Steve Bloch and additional information.
“America’s wildest public lands face unprecedented threats from the Trump administration and its repeated decisions to prioritize fossil fuel development and extractive industry over clean water, wildlife habitat, and wild open spaces. This is especially the case in Utah, where Trump’s policies are having direct and irreversible impacts on the nation’s redrock wilderness,” said Steve Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “The Public Lands Rule reiterated that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had 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. Americans and Utahns widely supported the Rule and we are deeply disappointed to see the Trump administration’s shortsighted effort to undo it. Our work to Protect Wild Utah continues, undeterred.”
Additional information:
The Public Lands Rule established a “… framework to ensure healthy landscapes, abundant wildlife habitat, clean water, and balanced decision-making on our nation’s public lands.” It did not preclude any uses on BLM-managed public lands; it puts conservation on equal footing with grazing, mining, and energy production, and promoted restoration, provided for responsible development, and conserved intact healthy landscapes. The Rule was the product of an extensive, years-long public process with multiple in-person and online meetings and opportunities for public comment. 92% of the comments received by BLM supported the Rule.
The Public Lands Rule is the subject of litigation brought by Republican-led states and industry groups in several federal district courts around the country; additional information can be found here. In February 2025, Congresswoman Celeste Maloy (UT-02) and Congressman Russ Fulcher (ID-01) re-introduced the Western Economic Security Today (WEST) Act; this federal legislation would require the Director of the BLM to withdraw the Rule. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) is an original co-sponsor of S.530 (WEST Act of 2025), companion legislation in the Senate, which was introduced in February 2025.
- BLM’s webpage on the Public Lands Rule.
- SUWA’s 9.10.25 Statement on the Trump Administration’s Plan to Rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Public Lands Rule; Advocacy Action from SUWA during the public comment period
- 10.1.24 Press Release – Utah and National Conservation Groups Move to Defend Balanced Management of Public Lands from Mining and Oil Industry Lawsuit
- SUWA’s 4.18.24 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
- 3.30.23 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.
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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 a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.
