Sweeping Biden rule could change the game for protecting public lands

America’s largest land manager would become a far greater environmental steward under a sweeping rule proposed Thursday.

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Public Lands Rule, which is open to public comment, would put conservation “on equal footing with other uses,” including energy development, timber harvest and grazing, the Interior Department announced.

The proposed change would mark a major shift for an agency critics say has long prioritized industry over conservation.

“Our public lands provide so many benefits — clean water, wildlife habitat, food, energy and lifetime memories, to name just a few — and it’s our job to ensure the same for future generations,” BLM Director Tracy Stone-Mannings said in a statement, “As pressure on our public lands continues to…