BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday finalized a new rule for public land management that’s meant to put conservation on more equal footing with oil drilling, grazing and other extractive industries on vast government-owned properties.
Officials pushed past strong opposition from private industry and Republican governors to adopt the proposal. GOP members of Congress said in response that they will seek to invalidate it.
The rule from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management — which oversees more than 380,000 square miles (990,000 square kilometers) of land, primarily in the U.S. West — will allow public property to be leased for restoration in the same way that oil companies lease land for drilling.
The rule also promotes the designation of more “areas of critical environmental concern” — a special status that can restrict development. It’s given to land with historic or cultural significance or that’s important for wildlife conservation.
Nadal returns to Roland Garros to practice amid doubts over fitness and form
Apple users are still discovering hidden new features inside iPhone's iOS17
Astronaut Thomas Stafford, commander of Apollo 10, dies aged 93: Air Force three
US overdose deaths dropped in 2023, the first time since 2018
Do you live near one? Interactive map reveals the locations of England's 400,000 heritage sites
World's biggest bridges revealed after collapse of colossal Baltimore landmark
Move over Mykonos! Paros is far more laid
What a blast to work at NASA. Space agency is sky
You're sure of a warm welcome along the awe