On Nov. 19, a recent Senate hearing regarding the multiple-use mandate of America’s public lands was held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The core issue discussed was about the challenge of balancing the “multiple-use” mandate (which requires balancing recreation, conservation, timber, grazing, and energy development) with a “sustained yield.”
Many senators and witnesses expressed frustration with the current process, calling it “rigid, slow, and often detached from the intent Congress expressed” and subject to political shifts between administrations.
“Senators heard one consistent message today: Multiple use is hard,” Rachael Hamby, policy director at The Center for Western Priorities, said. “Finding the balance happens on the ground, with the residents, scientists, and small business owners who know the land the best. That’s why it’s so foolish for Congress to use a blunt instrument like the Congressional Review Act to impose land management decisions from Washington.
Three points of concerns included “unprecedented staffing crisis,” the Congressional Review Act (CRA) and proposed land sales.
The staffing crisis that BLM faces under the Trump administration was said to slows down planning and permitting processes.
“Senators also heard how the Bureau of Land Management is facing an unprecedented staffing crisis due to the Trump administration’s cuts,” Hamby said.
Recent use of the CRA by Congress to overturn three specific resource management plans was noted as potentially causing “chaos” and uncertainty in land management, as it calls into question the validity of numerous other land use plans and decisions. Some Republican senators, including Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), have proposed selling off millions of acres of public land to address housing shortages and national debt, a measure that has faced significant opposition.
“Congress needs to step up on behalf of our public lands and ensure BLM has the people and funding to do its job and steward these lands for future generations,” Hamby said.
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