Western Caucus Chairman-elect Rep. Gosar Statement on Final BLM 2.0 Rule

Statement

Today, Chairman-elect of the Congressional Western Caucus, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04), released the following statement on the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) final Planning 2.0 rule:

"Once again, the Obama Administration believes that Washington knows best and continues to defy the principles of federalism. Subjugating Americans to another erroneous rule and more government red tape that strips away the authority and expertise of local land managers will not improve the planning process. BLM 2.0 is a bureaucratic nightmare that will kill jobs and create unnecessary permitting delays.

"In fact, this latest Obama regulation shortens the public comment period on draft Environmental Impact Statement amendments proposed by federal agencies, seeks to make it easier for federal agencies to implement President Obama's flawed mitigation memos and climate change executive orders, and adds several new steps to the beginning of the planning process that even the BLM admits will make the process slower.

"This fundamentally flawed regulation will impose costly and duplicative mandates on job creators and local communities. Local planning decisions should be made by the experts on the ground at the local level, not Washington bureaucrats. The Congressional Western Caucus will work with the Trump Administration, Republican leadership and local stakeholders to scrap misguided directives imposed by Obama's political hacks during their waning days."

Ethan Lane, Executive Director of the Public Lands Council and National Cattlemen's Beef Association federal lands stated: "This process radically alters federal land management planning and moves the agency away from its mandate to manage for multiple use on federal lands. We are continuing to review how much, if any, our input has been incorporated into the final plan, but regardless, we object to the Administration moving forward in the final days of the President's term with this hastily-released regulation - particularly with one that will have such dramatic economic impact on western states...The BLM must scrap BLM 2.0 and go back to the drawing board, this time with real input from stakeholders across the West."

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