The U.S. just changed how it manages a tenth of its land
For decades, the federal government has prioritized oil and gas drilling, hardrock mining and livestock grazing on public lands across the country.
That could soon change under a far-reaching Interior Department rule that puts #conservation, #recreation and #renewable#energy development on equal footing with resource extraction.
The final rule released Thursday represents a seismic shift in the management of roughly 245 million acres of public property
— about one-tenth of the nation’s land mass.
It is expected to draw praise from conservationists and legal challenges from fossil fuel industry groups and Republican officials,
some of whom have lambasted the move as a “land grab.”
Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, known as the nation’s largest landlord, has long offered leases to #oil and gas companies, #mining firms and #ranchers.
Now, for the first time, the nearly 80-year-old agency will auction off “#restoration leases” and “#mitigation leases” to entities with plans to restore or conserve public lands.
