The Conservation Alliance submitted a letter today to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Biden Administration, and members of Congress signed by more than 100 companies that demonstrates business support for the agency’s draft Public Lands Rule.
From the outdoor industry to brewers, bankers, sportsmen and renewable energy companies, the businesses represent a range of industries that rely on the outdoors for their bottom line.
Outdoor recreation generates $862 billion in economic output per year. Conserving public lands brings critical economic benefits through tourism and local recreation for rural and gateway communities situated near these lands and waters.
In addition, outdoor recreation like hunting, fishing, boating, hiking, and wildlife watching on public lands create 4.5 million jobs across the United States.
The BLM manages 245 million acres of U.S. public lands, including some of the country’s most iconic landscapes. BLM lands provide critical spaces for wildlife, climate resiliency, renewable energy development and tribally significant cultural resources.
The letter asks that the agency’s land management practices put conservation and recreation on a level playing field with other uses, saying “we support a Public Lands Rule that will ensure that our public lands continue to offer unique recreational opportunities, buffer important habitats against the growing impacts of climate change, and drive economic value and jobs for Americans.
“We strongly encourage the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management to do all that it can to better conserve and protect our nation’s important public lands and waters by adopting a strong Public Lands Rule,” the letter states.
“The time has come for the BLM to focus on managing its 245 million acres for outdoor recreation and conservation benefits and we believe this rule achieves both of these critically important objectives,” said Shoren Brown, VP of Public Affairs at The Conservation Alliance.
The letter and list of supporting companies can be found here.
