Here is the CORVA take:
BLM Proposed Rule
Conservation and Landscape Health
June 1, 2023
88 FR 19583
https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/BLM-2023-0001-0001
For over 50 years, the California Off-Road Vehicle Association (CORVA) has advocated for all forms of motorized recreation by promoting and protecting motorized access for off-road enthusiasts throughout the state of California. The association has enjoyed a long and collaborative working relationship with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in California, particularly throughout the desert areas of the state. Because of this long working relationship, CORVA believes these comments on the proposed Conservation and Landscape Health Rule should be given thoughtful consideration by the agency. The BLM Conservation and Landscape Health proposed rule seeks to significantly alter the direction of the agency from the multiple use and sustained yield mandate that was established by Congress with the passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) in 1976. Instead of continuing with current successful management practices that have benefitted the American people, the proposed rule seeks to undermine this mandate and substitute politically derived concepts that would serve as a detriment to the American people.
There is a telling phrase in the introduction to FLPMA, as amended through 2014, that emphasizes the important role the BLM has played through its management practices of driving economic growth in rural communities. Historically, BLM has served as an integral part in the livelihoods of rural landowners and residents by providing grazing leases and supporting mineral extraction, in appropriate areas as determined by a public process. The mandate for the BLM is codified in the Congressional Declaration of Policy, sec 102 (a)(7); “goals and objectives be established by law as guidelines for public land use planning, and that management be on the basis of multiple use and sustained yield unless otherwise specified by law…”. In addition to grazing and mineral extraction, in a more recent role, BLM lands have served an important role in alternative energy development by supplying sites for solar and wind developments which serves to benefit both rural and urban communities. Most alternative energy installations throughout the country that are not sited on private land are located on BLM land, especially in the western United States.
These examples of management policies the BLM currently brings to the table for the American people were clearly defined by Congress. This beneficial role is now in danger of being usurped, as they are subjected to a proposal that will fundamentally change the nature of the agency. The proposed Conservation and Landscape Health Rule will alter the functioning and the intention of the agency from one serving the American people to one neglecting the American people.
The summary of the new rule proclaims; “the proposed rule provides that the BLM will protect intact landscapes, restore degraded habitat, and make wise management decisions based on science and data. To support these activities, the proposed rule would apply land health standards to all BLM-managed public lands and uses, clarify that conservation is a “use” within FLPMA's multiple-use framework…”. This statement would imply that conservation is currently being ignored by the agency, which is incorrect. All BLM land use designations, including grazing leases, are already subject to environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). One of the stated reasons for the consideration of the proposed rule is the need for more designations of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). But NEPA decisions do allow for the establishment of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, therefore this justification is a moot point.
Instead of current multiple use considerations, the emphasis of the proposed rule would be on ‘conservation’ measures that have more in common with the goals of the Wilderness Act than anything resembling working landscapes that currently define the majority of BLM land and violates the intention of FLPMA as it was defined by Congress. It is well known throughout the western United States that conservation easements, as described in the proposed rule, are used as a tool to eliminate multiple uses on public land but also serve as a deterrent for recreational uses of all kinds.
If the agency seeks to change the purpose of the Bureau of Land Management and alter the intention and management of the agency, there is no question this must be done through Congressional action. Otherwise, the agency is thwarting the will of Congress, who speak on behalf of the American people.
In summary, this proposed rule would unlawfully countermand FLPMA and is rife with buzzwords that environmental organizations would recognize, as undoubtedly, they have had a strong role in creation of this proposal. But it bears no relation to the working landscapes of the BLM that are necessary for agriculture, recreation, and other uses and purposes in rural America.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
California Off-Road Vehicle Association
Amy Granat
Managing Director
CORVA
