The U.S. Department of the Interior is conducting a broad review of federal wilderness policies across millions of acres of public lands, saying it’s aiming to support recreation access. Conservation groups and a handful of Senate Democrats worry the changes could weaken protections for some of the country’s wildest places.
The 60-day public comment window is coming to an end this month, after the department started seeking feedback on policies governing wilderness study areas and lands with wilderness characteristics within the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In announcing the review, the department said it will help them determine if existing policies should be updated "to improve consistency, increase transparency and ensure public lands continue to be managed effectively in accordance with applicable laws.”
"Under President Trump’s leadership, Interior is focused on expanding outdoor recreation opportunities, removing unnecessary barriers to access and use and managing public lands in a way that benefits the American people,” the announcement continued.
The Interior Department is accepting public comments on wilderness policies through August 14
- BLM Manual 6320 – Considering Lands with Wilderness Characteristics
- BLM Manual 6330 – Management of Wilderness Study Areas
- BLM Manual 6340 – Management of Designated Wilderness Areas
- Fish and Wildlife Service Wilderness Administration and Resource Stewardship
- National Park Service Wilderness Stewardship Policy Review
Wilderness study areas are places formally identified as having wilderness characteristics and are managed to preserve that character while Congress decides whether to designate them as wilderness. The Bureau of Land Management can also identify “lands with wilderness characteristics,” which the agency can use to inform land-use planning.
Conservationists view these lands as a pipeline to designated wilderness areas — some of the most protected public lands where motorized vehicles and equipment are generally banned.
But some recreation groups have fought against wilderness study areas and lands with wilderness characteristics, saying land gets “locked up” while waiting for Congress to decide what to do with them.
“In too many places, agencies have allowed that 'temporary' status to calcify into a de facto permanent wilderness regime, with motorized recreation and other lawful uses systematically squeezed out,” said Ben Burr, executive director of the off-highway vehicle advocacy organization BlueRibbon Coalition, in a press release supporting the Interior’s review.
It’s unclear exactly what could change as a result of the broad Interior review. Michael Carroll, the Bureau of Land Management campaign director at the nonprofit Wilderness Society, fears increased development on lands that could eventually become wilderness.
“If they sort of get rid of wilderness study areas — or open them up to off-road vehicle use, or timber, or mining, or other industrial uses on those lands — then the wilderness quality of those areas are lost forever,” he said. “They would never qualify again as wilderness in the future.”
And while Interior said it was interested in inspecting policies for wilderness study areas and lands with wilderness characteristics, some of the policy manuals under examination govern designated wilderness areas, too.
Interior-managed lands under all of these categories span more than 35 million acres in the Mountain West.
On Monday, 10 Senate Democrats sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum opposing the review, arguing that it undermines Congress’ role in wilderness management.
“It is atypical for the Interior Department to conduct land management planning by asking for comments on its agencies’ general operating procedures,” the letter stated. “And given this Administration’s obsession with development and disposal of public lands, it seems clear that this comment period is really just a ploy to weaken protections for public lands.”
The Interior Department is accepting public comments on wilderness policies at the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service through Aug. 14.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
