Energy Groups Object to Conservation as Use of Public Lands

Defining conservation as a specific “use” of public lands is shaping up to be the primary point of legal opposition to a proposed federal lands rule that would prioritize conservation over fossil fuels extraction and allow public lands management to adapt to a changing climate.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management received more than 215,300 comments on its proposed public lands rule by the end of Wednesday when the public comment period closed. The draft rule was announced in March and is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.

Both renewable energy and fossil fuels groups ...