An oil worker walks toward a drill rig in Loving County, Texas. (Reuters/Angus Mordant)
In addition to the Sierra Club, several other environmental groups that have similarly advocated for blocking fossil fuel drilling on federal lands also cheered the BLM proposal.
Wilderness Society president Jamie Williams said the rule would help better manage lands for "ecosystem resilience in the face of climate pressure." The Defenders of Wildlife applauded the rule, noting that "heavy emphasis on energy development" has harmed wildlife populations and that 90% of BLM-managed lands are currently open to oil and gas leasing.
"We appreciate the meaningful conservation measures in this new rule that have the promise to advance biodiversity, climate resilience and equity on our public lands," said Helen O’Shea, the director of the Protected Areas Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
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According to the BLM, the rule — aimed at putting conservation "on equal footing" with other uses overall — would improve the climate change resilience of public lands, conserve wildlife habitats and landscapes and preserve cultural and natural resources on public lands. Under its conservation leasing provision,
"It is our responsibility to use the best tools available to restore wildlife habitat, plan for smart development and conserve the most important places for the benefit of the generations to come," said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
However, Republican lawmakers and conservation experts criticized the rule and suggested it may conflict with existing laws.
"It seems like a reversion to the BLM 2.0 planning rule from 2016 from the Obama era," Gabriella Hoffman, a senior fellow at the Independent Women's Forum's Center for Energy and Conservation, told Fox News Digital in an interview. "Very similar language to it, calling for a move away from prioritizing oil and gas development, in their words, grazing, mining, etc. — the so-called extractive practices that happen on public lands to a more public use model."
"It could be understood that these environmental groups would heavily bid on these leases to create non-uses under the guise of conservation to stop oil and gas production, to stop grazing, mining, timber," she continued.
