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The Bureau of Land Management's proposed Public Lands Rule, introduced in March, would seek to put conservation on equal footing with mining, drilling, livestock grazing, and other uses on public lands, in part by offering conservation leases—types of leases where an external entity could propose to enter into an agreement with the BLM to help achieve restoration or mitigation outcomes on public lands.
In a recent episode of the Center for Western Priorities' podcast, The Landscape, Kate and Aaron speak with James Kenna, a 40-year Interior Department veteran, to discuss the agency's Public Lands Rule and its long-term benefits to public lands. Kenna wore a number of hats over his decades of public service, including a stint as BLM's California state director, giving him a front row seat to land management decisions that would shape America’s energy future.
"This is really a framework for doing what has been in the business line of the Bureau of Land Management for a long time," says Kenna. "Restoration work and conservation work is critical to sustaining public lands over the long haul. It's what we hand off to the next generation when we're done."
Congressional leaders are also on board with the Public Lands Rule. A bicameral coalition of 45 members of Congress is urging Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to implement the rule, emphasizing that maintaining BLM lands for multiple uses is vital in the face of a warming climate, and to ensure the health of public lands for future generations.
BLM Restoration Landscapes: Montana Mountains
In celebration of the Bureau of Land Management’s $161 million investment in Western landscape restoration projects, Look West is highlighting a different "Restoration Landscape" each day for 21 days. Today’s landscape is the Montana Mountains in northwest Nevada. An investment of $6 million will help restore riparian areas—bands of green in the desert—to support the area's wildlife, which includes antelope, mule deer, greater sage-grouse, and pygmy rabbit.
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Conservation is a participative sport. If you look at where it's been done well, anywhere in the country, you will find partnerships.”
