(Helena – KPAX) The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has announced a new rule that leaders say is aimed at improving the health and resilience of the public lands they oversee.
Leaders said the rule would help the BLM respond to impacts from a changing climate, encourage responsible development and put conservation on equal footing with the multiple other uses the agency manages for.
BLM mentioned three major changes in this bill: It directs the agency to consider “the fundamentals of land health” it creates a process for issuing “restoration leases” and “mitigation leases.”, and it tells the BLM to prioritize designating “Areas of Critical Environmental Concern,”
Those opposing the bill say it can cause undue restrictions on public land that could otherwise be used for grazing, mining, energy production and recreation.
