Analysis finds 92% of respondents favor Bureau of Land Management rule change

By Ron Dungan
Published: Wednesday, July 5, 2023 - 4:36pm

July 5 marks the last day of public comment for a proposed rule change allowing the Bureau of Land Management to bring better balance to its multiple-use policy.

One analysis found that an overwhelming majority of comments favor the proposal.

The nonprofit Center for Western Priorities sampled 10,000 of the comments and did a statistical breakdown.

It found that 92% of the comments favored the rule change, which would place recreation on par with other uses of BLM lands, such as mining and grazing.

Although in theory all users should get equal consideration under the agency’s multiple use doctrine, conservationists complain that its policies frequently favor oil, gas and other industries.

Environment