Trump, Burgum Rescind Public Lands Rule

The dictionary definition of use is “to employ for some purpose.” The definition of conserve is “to keep from loss, decay or waste.” So is conservation a use? In the matter of managing 245 million acres overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the new answer is no.

On June 11, the BLM will rescind the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule. That’s a change from just a year ago, when BLM declared that conservation was a co-equal option to uses such as mining, grazing or energy development on public land. Before that Biden-administration policy could have much practical impact, Trump-admi...