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Ranchers Denounce New Biden Public Lands Rule
March 30, 2023
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC) expressed serious concern with the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) proposed rule titled "Strengthening the Stewardship of America’s Public Lands" that would completely upend BLM's multiple-use mandate and jeopardizes the agency's ability to be a good partner to the ranchers who manage millions of acres across the West.
“Ranchers have a reasonable expectation of transparency and predictability with dealing with the BLM, and this proposed rule falls short on both accounts. The covert manner in which the rule was developed and announced has left permittees feeling like the rule is either a capitulation to the extremist environmental groups who want to eradicate grazing from the landscape, or a concerted effort to develop rules that preclude ranchers’ input,” said NCBA Executive Director of Natural Resources and PLC Executive Director Kaitlynn Glover. “Over the next 75 days, the BLM will have to answer some serious questions about their understanding of their multiple-use mandate and the value they place on their relationship with ranchers across the landscape.”
U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), commented on the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed Public Lands Rule.
“In the 1980s extremists used tree spikes to try and stop responsible management of public lands. In 2023 they use decrees from Washington. Today’s announcement undermines the law’s multiple-use requirement for Bureau of Land Management lands. Wyoming families depend on access to public lands for energy and critical mineral development, grazing, forest management, and recreation. The Biden Administration’s extreme unilateral action will kill multiple use. This is a clear violation of the law. I will do everything in my power to stop this proposal.”
Source: Western Ag Network, PLC, Sen. Barrasso
