The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a final rulemaking that repeals the 2024 Public Lands Rule, signaling a major shift in the federal government’s approach to public land management. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior and BLM, the rollback is intended to restore a more traditional “multiple-use” framework for managing public lands across the West.

ORBA and SEMA strongly support the BLM’s decision to back a new federal proposal to repeal a Biden Administration-era policy that threatened recreational access to millions of acres of public lands.

The original 2024 rule--formally known as the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule--generated significant concern throughout the off-road recreation community because it expanded conservation leasing and mitigation mechanisms on public lands while elevating conservation as a standalone land use within BLM policy.

From the beginning, ORBA, SEMA and many other groups across the recreation, agricultural, motorsports and public lands communities questioned whether the rule shifted the balance Congress intended under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), where public lands are managed for multiple uses, including recreation, conservation, grazing, energy production and public access together.

In announcing the proposed repeal, the Department of the Interior stated that the 2024 rule created regulatory uncertainty and added planning and permitting burdens that could impact recreation, grazing, timber, energy and other traditional public land uses.

For the off-road community, this is a significant development, but the broader conversation around public-land access and management is far from over.

Many of the issues affecting motorized recreation occur at the local level through travel management plans, route designations, land-use amendments and project-specific decisions. Those processes will continue regardless of what happens with the national rule itself.

ORBA and SEMA will continue to follow the repeal process and engage on issues that directly affect responsible motorized recreation, public access and the businesses and communities connected to the off-road industry.

As always, long-term access depends on staying engaged, participating in public processes, and continuing to demonstrate that responsible recreation and stewardship can coexist on America’s public lands.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock | Brattain Productions