Last Frontier News

(Anchorage, AK) – Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor led the effort supported by 16 states to call out how the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is trying--through a draft rule--to replace land uses with conservation on some federal lands.

"This conservation-or-nothing attitude will significantly reduce the wellbeing of millions of people who derive benefit from the multiple uses that Congress granted. In sum, this proposed action will upend the history and legal framework of BLM-managed lands," Attorney General Taylor wrote.

Today, Attorney General Taylor filed a letter in the federal register (1745KB PDF) opposing BLM’s proposed rule called "Conservation and Landscape Health."

"This is yet another example of the federal government reaching much further than the law allows. When will enough be enough?" said Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy. "How many times does the Court have to rule that the federal government is out of bounds? Alaskans, businesses, and the State all need predictability and assurances about their livelihoods and endeavors—our economy depends on it. Although I’m doubtful they will change course, I implore BLM to take a hard look at the comments Alaska and many other states have submitted. Our lands don’t have to be locked up by a distant office in D.C. Balance between uses and protecting our environment can exist—Alaskans have shown that for decades."

BLM contends that this new rule is permissible under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ("FLMPA"); this is a misleading assertion. The letter lays out some of the land use allowed on BLM lands. "In other words, Congress specified that land managed by BLM should be available for mining operations, motorized recreation, natural gas leases, guide concessions, hunting and fishing, tourism, scientific study, just to name a few of the many uses Congress envisioned and authorized. Notably, Congress did not add conservation to FLPMA’s multiple-use framework because conservation is not a form of use."

Last Friday, the Alaska Departments of Environmental Conservation, Fish and Game, and Natural Resources also submitted a letter identifying significant issues and concerns with the proposed Conservation Landscape Health rule. The Alaska resources agencies letter, which can be found here, requests that BLM withdraw the proposed rule to revisit these deficiencies and that any regulatory proposal recognize the limitations of existing federal law and the statutorily-recognized unique management and land-use frameworks in Alaska.

"This ill-conceived nationwide rule would have outsize implications on Alaskans given that the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) has already struck the final balance between conservation and multiple use for federal lands in Alaska," said DNR Commissioner John Boyle. "Federal lands that have not been congressionally conserved must be available for Alaskans to use and enjoy. Governor Dunleavy’s administration is committed to ensuring access to public lands for Alaskans, which is why we are objecting to this proposed rule and requesting an exemption for the BLM-managed lands here."

"The plain language of ANILCA, as written by Congress, is very clear and numerous times states that it has achieved a balance between conservation and other uses in Alaska. We don’t need the new leadership of BLM rewriting history as is being attempted by this proposed rule-making exercise." said ADF&G Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang. "It just doesn’t work in Alaska, by design and by law."

"Rather than wasting government resources on a so-called "conservation and landscape health rule," BLM and the Department of Interior should focus on improving the health of Alaska Native contaminated lands for which they are the responsible party," said DEC Commissioner Jason Brune. "BLM should make a sincere commitment to cleaning up long-standing environmental injustices left behind by the federal government, righting the wrongs indigenous peoples have endured in Alaska, rather than working to lock up more of Alaska."

Original source can be found here