A draft of a four-year plan for the Department of the Interior’s objectives for “prosperity, security, and recreation” has been leaked online. This leaked road map outlines shocking policy objectives that could have serious implications for anyone who recreates on public land, especially in the West.
According to Angus Theurmer, with WyoFile, this draft plan calls for the “release” of federal holdings, which Theurmer describes as “(divesting) Americans of their public property to allow states and communities to reduce housing costs.”
This initiative has been reported on before. The Trump administration is floating the idea of selling public lands around major population centers in the West (Salt Lake City, Bozeman, and Denver, to name a few) in order to ease the housing crisis this region is experiencing. The sale of those lands would, in theory, be applied to reducing the federal deficit.
That plan has been met with swift rebuttal from conservation groups who don’t believe the current administration would stop at only selling public lands around cities. Other high-value lands home to world-class hunting and fishing could potentially be on the table. The fact this initiative is mentioned in the leaked DOI road map adds more fuel to that particular fire.
The plan also calls for deregulation for coal production, and oil and gas drilling. The approval process for new energy development projects, which falls under the National Environmental Policy Act, would be shortened to just 28 days. Current NEPA reviews can take years. That only applies to coal, hardrock mines, oil and gas drilling, geothermal development, and biofuels projects on public lands, while wind and solar projects are specifically excluded, according to Politico.
Grazing prices would also decrease under this plan, even though current leases are low.
The plan does call for cleaning up abandoned wells and mines, and calls for “clean and adequate amounts of water.” Specific details on both of those goals weren’t readily available, however.
It remains to be seen how much of this plan can be implemented, as litigation is almost a certainty. The plan can’t take effect earlier than Oct. 1, and a public comment period runs from May 16 to July 18.