Call to Action: Defend Our Right to Hunt, Fish, and Access Public Lands
Now is the time to make your voice heard. Whatever your politics are, ask yourself: “What are our council and potential candidates doing to protect our right to hunt and fish?” Whether it’s liberal Seattleite Techies buying forested “retreat” properties, or MAGA Conservative federal moves that open pristine country to industrial use without balance, one thing is certain: our children’s future of hunting and fishing is on the line.
Today is the last day to submit public comments on a major federal proposal that would rescind the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule (aka the “Public Lands Rule”) adopted by the Bureau of Land Management. This Rule put conservation and landscape health on equal footing with grazing, timber, energy and recreation across roughly 245 million acres of BLM lands. (https://www.blm.gov/about/laws-and-regulations/conservation-and-landscape-health-rule).
The U.S. Department of the Interior opened a comment window of 60 days for the proposed rescission, which closes tonight, Monday, November 10 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET. (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/09/11/2025-17537/rescission-of-conservation-and-landscape-health-rule?).
What’s at stake
• The Public Lands Rule (2024) formally recognized conservation as a legitimate “use” of public land; alongside grazing, timber harvest, energy development and recreation, and created tools to restore habitat and improve access (https://www.bakerbotts.com/thought-leadership/publications/2024/june/blms-new-public-lands-rule-key-questions-for-energy-and-mining-sector?).
• The 2025 proposal would repeal that Rule, removing those conservation tools and shifting decisions back to older systems that too often left out habitat restoration, wildlife corridors, and fair public access for hunters and fishers (https://www.blm.gov/press-release/interior-proposes-rescind-public-lands-rule-restoring-balanced-multiple-use).
• For us that can mean less certainty for migration corridors, fewer guardrails on fragmentation of land and water, and more fights to keep our traditional access open, especially where roads, fences, or leases can box us out.
This is not a partisan issue. It’s about sovereignty, stewardship, and safeguarding the places that feed our families, our traditions and our culture.
How can you contribute? Easy, either go to this website and submit a public comment:
Or, join Backcountryhunters.org to contact your representative:
https://www.backcountryhunters.org/get-involved/take-action
Just put your address and zip code and it will automate a public comment for you.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/09/11/2025-17537/rescission-of-conservation-and-landscape-health-rule?
