Public Lands Need Your Help AGAIN: Defend the Public Lands Rule

Posted on by Alison Gallensky
Oranges and purples color clouds and the Arkansas River as it flows between tree covered banks.
Arkansas Recreational River, Colorado, Photo by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management, CC BY 2.0.

Act by November 10 to Defend the Public Lands Rule!

In April, people like you who value public lands stepped up to successfully oppose public lands sell off. In September, hundreds of thousands of people like you who value undisturbed forests overwhelmingly opposed the proposed rollback of the roadless rule.

Now there is another threat to public lands. In 2024, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finalized the Public Lands Rule. This rule formalizes the legal requirement that conservation must be on equal footing with industry. Its provisions ensure that wildlife and wildlands are protected and that indigenous voices are heard. But in September, the Trump administration proposed to overturn the Public Lands Rule.

We must let the government know the public supports for the Public Lands Rule. Your voice can make a difference. Please take a few minutes to submit a comment in support of wildlife, clean water, recreation, and so much more! The comment period ends November 10, 2025 so PLEASE ACT NOW!

You Can Take Action to Defend the Public Lands Rule

Submit a Public Comment

Your voice matters. Decision-makers need to hear that the public wants to keep the Public Lands Rule by November 10, 2025. 

Submit your comment one of the following ways: 

What should I say?

Tell the Bureau of Land Management that you support the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule (the official name of the Public Lands Rule). Here are some talking points you can include in your comment:

  • Conservation: The Public Land Rule correctly puts conservation equal footing with all other uses of public lands. Conservation of natural resources is a valid use that BLM is obliged to protect under its multiple-use and sustained yield and undue degradation obligations. Conservation is active land management that maintains the health and productivity of public lands so they can support multiple uses, such as grazing, recreation, timber, energy and other land uses for generations to come.
  • Wildlife: The Public Lands Rule is essential for protecting wildlife habitat across millions of acres of public lands. By guiding responsible land management and conservation practices, the rule helps preserve the diverse ecosystems that countless species rely on for survival. Retaining the rule is crucial to ensure public lands continue to serve as vital refuges for wildlife now and into the future.
  • Wildlands: The Public Lands Rule recognizes the importance of landscapes that are unfragmented by human disturbance, that the rule refers to as intact landscapes. Scientists have recognized the concept of intactness as an important and reliable indicator of ecosystem health for decades. This common-sense direction should be retained and implemented so that wildlife can move freely and other ecosystem services can function properly in the face of climate change.
  • Indigenous Voices: The Public Lands Rule ensures the central role that Tribal Nations have in managing 245 million acres of public lands managed by the BLM. One of the main components of the Rule is making informed resource management decisions based on science and data, including Indigenous Knowledge. The rule also acknowledges the potential role of Tribal Nations and opportunities for co-stewardship in managing public lands. Tribal leaders published a joint statement strongly opposing the rescission of the Public Lands Rule.

More Background

In 2024, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finalized the Public Lands Rule—a landmark policy to responsibly steward over 245 million acres of public lands across the country. This rule finally puts conservation, ecosystem restoration, and community access on equal footing with extractive uses like mining, drilling, and grazing. It was shaped by more than 200,000 public comments and is a critical step toward ensuring clean water, healthy wildlife habitat, climate resilience, and public health for future generations. But now, this progress is under threat.

The Trump Administration is proposing to repeal the Public Lands Rule. This attack is part of a broader agenda: to weaken public oversight, defund federal land management agencies, eliminate protections, and open the door to land sell-offs and giveaways to oil, gas, and mining companies. Chronic underfunding and understaffing at BLM already threaten the agency’s ability to do its job—and these rollbacks would further erode public access, harm ecosystems, and devastate the communities who rely most on these lands.

This rule is especially important for frontline and Indigenous communities, who often bear the brunt of pollution, habitat loss, and climate impacts—yet are too often excluded from decision-making about public lands. The Public Lands Rule helps ensure these communities have the tools to advocate for how our lands are managed, and helps protect the landscapes they depend on for cultural, spiritual, and economic well-being.

We must come together now to defend the Public Lands Rule and stop the erosion of public land protections. These lands belong to all of us—not just to extractive industries. We can’t afford to go backward.

How Can I Learn More?