BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Interior Department is canceling a rule that put conservation on equal footing with development, as President Donald Trump's administration eases restrictions on industries and seeks to boost drilling, logging, mining and grazing on taxpayer-owned land.
The 2024 rule adopted under former President Joe Biden was meant to refocus the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management, which oversees about 10% of land in the U.S. It allowed public property to be leased for restoration in the same way that oil companies lease land for drilling.
But Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has said the rule could have blocked access to hundreds of thousands of acres (hectares) of land — preventing energy and timber production and hurting ranchers who graze on public lands.
Supporters argued that conservation had long been a secondary consideration at the land bureau, neglecting its mission under the 1976 Federal Lands Policy Management Act. While the bureau previously issued leases for conservation purposes in limited cases, it never had a dedicated program prior to the Biden administration.
Bobby McEnaney with the Natural Resources Defense Council said repealing the rule ”means less protection for the clean drinking water, less protection for endangered wildlife that depend on healthy habitat, and less accountability when corporations leave these landscapes damaged and degraded."
In documents released Monday, administration officials said it exceeded the land bureau’s authority for outside parties to be allowed to obtain conservation leases.
Industry groups and their Republican allies in Congress strongly opposed the rule and had lobbied to repeal it. They said the change under Biden violated the “multiple use” mandate for Interior Department lands by catapulting the “non-use” of federal lands — meaning restoration leases — to a position of prominence.
“This action provides greater clarity and predictability for independent oil and natural gas producers—many of whom rely on consistent permitting and leasing processes to operate efficiently and invest in domestic energy supply,” Dan Naatz with the Independent Petroleum Association of America said in a statement.
The federal government's vast land holdings are concentrated in Western states including Alaska, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Since taking office, Trump has pursued a flurry of actions aimed at boosting fossil fuel production from those taxpayer-owned sites. The Republican administration also has sought to sideline some renewable energy projects, claiming they were unfairly subsidized under Biden.
The repeal is effective 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register, which was scheduled for Tuesday.
It comes after Republicans in Congress in recent months canceled land management plans adopted in the closing days of Biden's administration that restricted development in large areas of Alaska, Montana and North Dakota.
In addition to its surface land holdings, the Bureau of Land Management regulates publicly owned underground mineral reserves — such as coal for power plants and lithium for renewable energy — across more than 1 million square miles (2.5 million square kilometers). The bureau has a history of industry-friendly policies and for more than a century has sold grazing permits and oil and gas leases.
FILE - Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, center, is seen at the White House, March 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - Cows graze along a section of the Missouri River that includes the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument on Sept. 19, 2011, near Fort Benton, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The Buffalo Bills ' first regular-season game in their new stadium will be against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 17 and will kick off Amazon Prime Video's “Thursday Night Football” schedule.
The matchup was one of three announced by the NFL on Monday on Monday as NBC, Fox and Prime Video made their upfront presentations to advertisers.
The Dallas Cowboys were part of the other two unveilings. The Cowboys will visit the New York Giants in the first NBC “Sunday Night Football” game of the season on Sept. 13 and they will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Fox on Thanksgiving Day Nov. 26.
The full schedule will be released on Thursday with other matchups revealed in the coming days.
The Bills are one of 10 teams to have new coaches this season with Joe Brady taking over after Sean McDermott was fired after nine seasons. The game will feature two of the top quarterbacks in the league with Josh Allen and the Bills hosting Jared Goff and the Lions. Detroit is looking to bounce back after missing the playoffs last season.
The NFL has traditionally used Week 2 to showcase new stadiums in a primetime game.
This is the eighth time in the past 15 years the Cowboys and Giants are opening the season against each other. It also marks the 15th time the NFC East rivals are meeting on NBC's Sunday night package, the second-most played matchup since the network started the package in 2016.
Dallas is always a national television draw as “America's Team,” and New York could get more primetime exposure with Super Bowl winner John Harbaugh in his first year coaching the Giants and Jaxson Dart established as the franchise quarterback coming off his eventful rookie year.
This also could be the NFL debuts for a pair of former Ohio State teammates: Giants linebacker Arvell Reese, taken with the fifth pick, and Cowboys safety Caleb Downs, drafted not long after at No. 11.
This will only be the third time, and first since 2014, that the Eagles will be the Cowboys' Thanksgiving opponent.
Dallas has won its past four Thanksgiving games, including a 31-28 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs last year.
The late afternoon Thanksgiving game is traditionally the most viewed of the regular season. Last year’s game averaged 57.23 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-watched regular-season game in league history.
This will be the second straight season Philadelphia will have the spotlight on Thanksgiving week. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles hosted last year's Black Friday game and lost to the Chicago Bears 24-15.
Monday's announcements mean the Cowboys know the dates for three of their 17 games. It was announced a couple of weeks ago their game in Rio de Janeiro against the Baltimore Ravens will take place in Week 3 on Sept. 27 and air on CBS.
Dallas at New York in Week 1 also means neither of those teams will be the visitor at Seattle on Wednesday night, Sept. 9, when the defending champion Seahawks unveil their Super Bowl banner and kick off the season. Chicago, Arizona, Kansas City, the Los Angeles Chargers or a title-game rematch against New England are the remaining possibilities.
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New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh speaks during a press conference at rookie minicamp at the NFL football team's practice facility, Saturday, May 9, 2026, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) greets Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) after an NFL football game on Jan. 4, 2026, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)
FILE - New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) runs with the ball past Dallas Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson (6) during an NFL football game on Jan. 4, 2026, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)
