Trending Now - Trump Administration Revokes Rule Prioritizing Land Conservation
WHO:
ABC News - Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is involved in the decision to cancel the rule.
ABC News - Bobby McEnaney is with the Natural Resources Defense Council and commented on the repeal.
ABC News - Dan Naatz is with the Independent Petroleum Association of America and provided a statement regarding the repeal.
WHAT:
ABC News - The repeal is effective 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register, which was scheduled for Tuesday.
ABC News - The Trump administration's decision comes after Republicans in Congress canceled land management plans adopted in the closing days of Biden's administration that restricted development in large areas of Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota.
ABC News - The Interior Department is canceling a rule that prioritized public lands conservation on equal footing with development.
ABC News - The rule was adopted under President Biden in 2024 and allowed public property to be leased for restoration.
ABC News - The repeal is effective 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register, which was scheduled for Tuesday.
ABC News - The Bureau of Land Management oversees about 10% of land in the U.S.
WHERE:
ABC News - The federal government's vast land holdings are concentrated in Western states including Alaska, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
ABC News - The Bureau of Land Management regulates publicly owned underground mineral reserves across more than 1 million square miles (2.5 million square kilometers).
WHY:
ABC News - The Trump administration's actions are aimed at ramping up American energy production.
ABC News - The decision to cancel the rule is aimed at easing restrictions on industries and boosting drilling, logging, mining, and grazing on taxpayer-owned land.
ABC News - Supporters of the repeal argue that conservation had been a secondary consideration at the land bureau, neglecting its mission under the 1976 Federal Lands Policy Management Act.
ABC News - Industry groups and Republican allies opposed the rule, claiming it violated the “multiple use” mandate for Interior Department lands.
HOW:
ABC News - The repeal was influenced by lobbying from industry groups and their Republican allies in Congress.
(UPDATED May 12, 2026 17:41 UTC)
The Trump administration has announced a repeal of land management plans that were put in place during the final days of Biden's presidency, which limited development in significant areas of Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota. This repeal will take effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register, which is scheduled for Tuesday. The administration's actions are part of a broader strategy to increase American energy production.
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(UPDATED May 12, 2026 07:52 UTC)
The Interior Department is set to cancel a rule that prioritized public lands conservation on equal footing with development, a decision influenced by lobbying from industry groups and their Republican allies in Congress. This rule, adopted under Biden in 2024, allowed public property to be leased for restoration and is now being repealed to ease restrictions on drilling, logging, mining, and grazing on taxpayer-owned land. The repeal will take effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register, which is scheduled for Tuesday, and has drawn comments from figures like Doug Burgum, Bobby McEnaney, and Dan Naatz regarding its implications for land management.