New Rulemaking Puts Public Lands Surrounding National Parks in Jeopardy

WASHINGTON— The Department of the Interior (DOI) announced a new rulemaking that could dramatically change how millions of acres of public land are managed under the Bureau of Land Management.

The proposed changes would weaken protections for Areas of Environmental Concern (ACECs), which help to protect sensitive wildlife habitat, clean water, fragile landscapes, and cultural resources. NPCA has been a strong supporter of ACECs to protect park lands, such as those that help protect the greater landscape connecting Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks and Mojave National Preserve.

At a time when roughly 80% of BLM-managed lands are already open to oil and gas leasing and vast areas are available for mining interests, this proposal would fast-track drilling, mining and other development projects on sensitive landscapes.

The rulemaking could further gut public comment periods by significantly shortening them, reducing opportunities for Tribal engagement, and limiting the role of cooperating agencies—like the National Park Service—in collaboratively shaping decisions about our public lands.

More than 25 million acres of public land are at risk under this new proposal to weaken ACECs, including landscapes that surround and support several national parks.

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal.

Statement from Beau Kiklis, Associate Director of Energy and Landscape Conservation at the National Parks Conservation Association

“America’s national parks are supported by the public lands that surround them, and this proposal is another blatant attempt to unravel decades of conservation progress that the public overwhelmingly supports.

“Roughly 80 national park sites share a border with BLM lands, and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern have helped protect Dinosaur National Monument from the impacts of oil and gas development, support Joshua Tree’s wildlife by protecting the neighboring Pinto Mountains, and protect ancestral sites near Hovenweep among countless others. This is another move to sell off and sell out our public lands, and the public deserves a real say before more is lost.”

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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.