For immediate release: July 13, 2026

Media contacts: 

• Josh Osher, Western Watersheds Project, josh@westernwatershes.org, (406) 220-2883
• Chandra Rosenthal, PEER, crosenthal@peer.org, (303) 898-0798
• Jonathan Ratner, Sage Steppe Wild, Jonathan@Wild-Sage.org (307) 231-1325
• Chris Krupp, WildEarth Guardians, ckrupp@wildearthguardians.org, (206) 417-6363
  Katie Bilodeau, Wilderness Watch, kbilodeau@wildernesswatch.org, (406) 542-2048 Ext 8 

Bureau of Land Management’s Controversial Grazing Proposal Sparks More than 100,000 Public Comments 

WASHINGTON – As the public comment period closes today, the Bureau of Land Management has received more than 105,000 public comments on its proposed overhaul of federal grazing regulations governing approximately 155 million acres of public land. The proposed regulations, like many Trump efforts, seek to deregulate industrial uses on public lands and disenfranchise the American public.

Seventy-nine conservation organizations submitted substantial comments to the agency arguing that the proposal would weaken protections for wildlife and clean water, make it harder for the public to participate in decisions affecting their public lands, reduce accountability when livestock damage public resources, and violate multiple federal laws.

“More than 100,000 people have spoken because they recognize these regulations are about far more than livestock grazing,” said Josh Osher, Public Policy Director for Western Watersheds Project. “They are about whether America’s public lands will be managed for the benefit of all Americans or increasingly serve the interests of a single industry at a cost to lands and wildlife.”

The proposal has also drawn increased scrutiny following recent reporting examining the role of Interior Department official Karen Budd-Falen, who received an ethics waiver allowing her to participate in grazing policy despite longstanding professional and financial ties to the public lands livestock industry. Financial disclosures show that Budd-Falen and her husband own multiple ranching operations that rely on federal grazing permits.

The coalition’s comments highlight several major concerns with the proposal: 

• It would strictly narrow who qualifies as the “interested public,” excluding many Americans with a legitimate interest in public lands (including hunters, anglers, scientists, and local communities) from decisions affecting wildlife habitat, water quality, recreation, and climate resilience. 
• It would weaken the role of land health standards and eliminate important site-specific evaluations that currently identify grazing impacts to streams, wildlife habitat, and endangered species.
• It would restrict grazing permits to “production-oriented livestock”, excluding native species such as bison while reinforcing commercial livestock production as the primary purpose of public lands grazing.
• It would weaken accountability by allowing livestock grazing to continue for years after damage to public lands has been documented.
• It would permit the Bureau to make many of its grazing decisions out of the public eye entirely, handing over permits and bypassing processes that keep Americans apprised of grazing impacts. 

“Karen Budd-Falen is removing the public from public lands with her crusade on behalf of her family business,” said Jonathan Ratner, Director of Sage Steppe Wild

“Unfortunately, BLM is fast becoming an absentee landlord for America’s public lands,” remarked PEER Western Lands and Rocky Mountain Advocate Chandra Rosenthal, pointing out that BLM projects a 40% reduction in staff from the end of Fiscal Year 2025 to 2027. “Likewise, in the proposed grazing regulations BLM plans to abandon much of the staff land management responsibilities and instead hand over decision-making to the commercial operators.” 

“This proposal is another chapter in the Trump administration’s playbook to return the country to the robber baron era when the livestock, timber, and mining industries exploited public lands, the BLM did their bidding, and the public had no voice,” said Chris Krupp, Public Lands Attorney for WildEarth Guardians.” Americans deserve new laws for public lands—laws that elevate clean water, clean air, and wildlife above extraction and exploitation—not a return to the lawless frontier.”

“At least 50 percent of all Bureau-administered Wilderness acres are grazed by livestock,” said Katie Bilodeau, Legal Director and Policy Analyst for Wilderness Watch. “If enacted, these regulations would expand grazing at great cost to wilderness character and hide the consequences from the public. BLM is trying to rig the rules so it can turn a blind eye to profiteers looting Wilderness and disregard its legal mandates to protect areas, vegetation, and wildlife on all of our public lands.” 

The proposal represents the first comprehensive rewrite of the Bureau’s grazing regulations since 1995 and would affect management across nearly one-tenth of the land area of the United States. The agency has not prepared an Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement for the rule despite its broad implications for wildlife, water quality, and public participation.

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