FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Whitney Forman-Cook
Whitney-Forman-Cook[at]nacdnet.org
(202) 595-9139

HOUSE TAKES FIRST STEP TO REVOKE BLM PLANNING RULE

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2017 – NACD applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing a joint resolution of disapproval under Congressional Review Act (CRA) authority to roll back the Bureau of Land Management’s “Planning 2.0” rule. The resolution (H.J. Res. 44), passed by an overwhelming margin, is the first step toward revoking the Obama administration regulation that went into effect last month.

“NACD has followed the development of Planning 2.0 since its inception, participating in town hall sessions, providing detailed public comments, and submitting letters to both BLM and lawmakers,” said Brent Van Dyke, the National Association of Conservation Districts’ (NACD) president. “We are pleased the House has taken notice of our concerns and voted to send BLM back to the drawing board.”

While BLM promoted Planning 2.0 as a tool to increase local government input in the land management planning process, the rule has instead added undue administrative burden on these crucial stakeholders.

If passed by the Senate, which is expected to bring a complimentary resolution (S.J. Res. 15) to a vote soon, the joint resolution will go to President Donald Trump, who is expected to give his approval. Once the joint resolution is approved, the BLM planning process will revert back to the pre-rule procedure, giving BLM a second chance to formalize a planning rule update.

“The BLM’s mandate is to ensure the multiple use of our nation’s public lands,” NACD CEO Jeremy Peters said. “As the organization that represents this country’s 3,000 conservation districts – the primary entities responsible for natural resource management at the local level – we couldn’t stand by and watch the BLM erode the important step of local government involvement.”

NACD would like to thank Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., for leading the charge in the House to pass the resolution, as well as Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., for quoting a section of NACD’s letter to House leadership during his floor speech yesterday evening.

For more information on CRA – the law that allows Congress to revoke specific executive actions finalized in the previous 60 legislative work days – head to NACD’s blog. To read the letters and public comments NACD has submitted on Planning 2.0, check out our Newsroom.

###

The National Association of Conservation Districts is the non-profit organization that represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts, their state associations and the 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. For more than 70 years, local conservation districts have worked with cooperating landowners and managers of private working lands to help them plan and apply effective conservation practices. For more information about NACD, visit: www.nacdnet.org.