Heinrich Welcomes Final BLM Public Lands Rule

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement applauding today’s announcement from the U.S. Department of the Interior that is has finalized the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Public Lands Rule.

“In New Mexico, our public lands are central to our way of life. We value them for their deep history and cultural meaning, their scenic natural beauty, and the many ways we enjoy them – from hiking and camping to hunting and fishing.” said Heinrich. “BLM oversees the largest share of our public lands, including cherished places like the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Rio Grande del Norte National Monuments. This new rule will help BLM better manage our public lands in the face of a changing climate, protect watersheds that provide clean drinking water, and conserve important wildlife habitat.”

The final Public Lands Rule calls on BLM managers to scale their use of two proven conservation tools.

First, it calls on BLM managers to prioritize designating more Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) in their land use planning. There are currently a relatively small number of ACECs on BLM public lands. The ones that exist help protect sacred cultural sites, paleontological resources, and critical wildlife habitat. Scaling this proven tool will be key to protecting more threatened natural, historical, and cultural resources on more of our public lands.

Second, the rule will allow BLM managers to issue “conservation leases” to nonprofit and community organizations for landscape restoration work on BLM public lands. These types of collaborative conservation partnerships have proven successful, including through the Restore New Mexico initiative, which supports improved soil and rangeland conditions on BLM grasslands. Conservation leases can also be used as environmental mitigation to facilitate development of wind and solar energy projects on public land.

Background:

Last June, Heinrich led a bicameral letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland calling to support the completion of rulemaking and implementation of the BLM’s Public Lands Rule.

Heinrich also encouraged New Mexicans to provide their feedback on the new rule during the public comment period, writing in an email newsletter to constituents to “make your voice heard on why conserving and restoring the health of our public lands is so important.”

###