Bureau of Land Management Moves to Rescind Public Lands Rule

Ranchers welcome end of Biden era grazing policy

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has begun the process to rescind the Biden administration’s Public Lands rule following strong opposition from ranchers and industry groups. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC) first challenged the rule in a 2024 lawsuit, arguing it violated the multiple use mandate under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. 

Ranchers said the rule threatened to remove long-standing grazing operations and other uses from federal lands. “NCBA fought back hard against this misguided rule, that was a dream for radical activists across the country looking to remove cattle from American rangeland, tear apart family ranches, and upend generations of legal precedent,” said NCBA President and Nebraska cattleman Buck Wehrbein. “Cattle producers were blindsided with this rulemaking two years ago and were not asked to give any input until the rule was already drafted. This was not a rulemaking to improve daily life for Americans, it was a shot across the bow of an entire industry, and we responded in kind. Thank you to the Trump administration and new BLM leadership for listening to producers and rescinding this grossly misguided rule.” 

“The last administration turned their back on ranchers and land conservation when they developed this rule and cut us out of the planning process for lands that we have managed for generations. It is well known that public lands grazing supports a healthy ecosystem and reduces the risk of catastrophic wildfires,” said PLC President and Colorado grazing permittee Tim Canterbury. “As permittees, we saw the rule’s clear intent: to remove us from our allotments and turn these lands into an unmanaged, unhealthy, unproductive liability. Ranchers across the West are thankful for the commonsense approach of the Trump administration to delete this rule from federal law and bring certainty back to ranchers and rural communities.” 

The NCBA and PLC were joined in their lawsuit by a broad coalition, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Petroleum Institute, American Sheep Industry Association, National Mining Association, and several state farm bureaus. Together, these groups maintained that the Biden era rule was illegal and harmful to rural communities. 

By starting the formal process to rescind the rule, the BLM signals a return to the traditional multiple use approach, bringing stability to western ranchers and reinforcing the importance of cooperative land management across the United States. 

Photo Credit: istock-alenamozhjer