• Interior Secretary Doug Burgum Reshapes Public Land Management with Sweeping Orders

  • Feb 6 2025
  • Length: 3 mins
  • Podcast

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum Reshapes Public Land Management with Sweeping Orders

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  • Summary

  • Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has made significant headlines in the last few days with a series of sweeping orders that aim to reshape the management and use of public lands in the United States. On February 5, 2025, Burgum signed six secretarial orders that mark a stark departure from the policies of the previous administration, particularly those of his predecessor, Deb Haaland, under the Biden administration.

    These orders are centered around increasing energy production, reviewing and potentially revising public land protections, and aligning the Interior Department's priorities with President Trump's recent declaration of an "energy crisis." One of the key orders, titled "Addressing the National Energy Emergency," reflects the Trump administration's stance that the Biden administration's push for rapid development of renewable energy sources like offshore wind and solar has weakened the nation's energy supply.

    Burgum's directives include a 15-day internal review of national monuments and all lands withdrawn from fossil fuel and mining development. This move has been met with strong criticism from environmental groups, who argue that such a rapid review is a "slapdash" attempt to avoid public scrutiny. The Conservation Lands Foundation has voiced concerns that these orders are aimed at selling off protected public lands to the wealthy and well-connected, rather than maintaining them for public use. The foundation highlighted that outdoor recreation on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands contributes over $11 billion to the economy and supports substantial income for rural communities through activities like hunting, fishing, and camping[3][4].

    The orders also target the Biden-era public lands rule, which sought to place conservation on par with energy development, grazing, and other uses of BLM rangelands. Burgum has directed the BLM to develop action plans to suspend, revise, or rescind this rule, which has been a point of contention for congressional Republicans. The rule, introduced in 2023, aimed to protect rangelands under increasing stress from climate warming but was seen by critics as violating BLM’s multiple-use mandate[4].

    Additionally, Burgum's orders aim to boost domestic energy sources and critical minerals under existing and emergency authorities. He has instructed the Interior Department's bureaus to review their programs and regulations to identify those that contribute to higher costs for the American people and to ensure that policies do not favor renewable energy projects over oil, gas, or other mineral resource projects. This includes reversing Biden-era executive orders on climate and environmental justice, which often sought to alleviate the burden of pollution on low-income communities[4].

    The immediate impact of these orders is significant, with the BLM indefinitely suspending an advisory panel appointed by Haaland that was set to oversee the implementation of the public lands rule. This suspension and the broader review of public land protections have sparked fears among environmental advocates that America’s public lands, monuments, and wild places are under threat[4].
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