The recently established Public Lands Rule, which helps to protect against overdevelopment of BLM lands across the United States, is at risk of being rescinded. For more information on how to make your voice heard before today’s deadline, read on below…

In September, the Department of the Interior announced its plan to rescind the Public Lands Rule and opened a 60-day comment period, which ends today, November 10, 2025. The Public Lands Rule was established last year to help the Bureau of Land Management better balance conservation and recreation values with development across the 245 million acres of public lands it manages. The stated goal of the rescission is to “eliminate unnecessary barriers to energy development and support the multiple-use mandate of the BLM by not prioritizing conservation over all other uses.”

Public Lands Rule

BLM lands that are at risk of development if the Public Lands Rule is rescinded.

One of the most important features of the rule is its recognition of outdoor recreation as a core part of public land management. The rule ensures the BLM accounts for recreation values, protects landscapes essential to climbing, paddling, mountain biking, and other human-powered activities, and supports mitigation of impacts from development on recreation resources. It also allows the agency to identify and protect intact landscapes and establish or expand Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs), safeguarding places important for wildlife, cultural resources, and outdoor experiences.

Protecting public lands is in the best interest of most Americans, and it strikes a chord with us here at BIKEPACKING.com, as many of the places the routes we develop and steward pass through are under threat of development. With today being the last day for public comment, we urge you to click here to make your voice heard.

Special thanks to Outdoor Alliance for the information and tools for advocacy.

Further Reading

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