BLM planning rule would cut Alaska governor's review of federal land plans to 30 days

The Bureau of Land Management proposed Nov. 10 to cut the governor's consistency review of its land use plans from 60 days to 30. Under the proposed rule, state, local and tribal governments that want their own approved plans considered would have 45 days from the BLM's request to submit them.

Those deadlines set how long the state or a borough has to tell the federal government that a plan conflicts with its own, and how long a tribal government has to put its plans before the BLM. The BLM manages more than 245 million acres, mostly in 12 Western states. The rule would not apply to the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on the North Slope, which federal law exempts.

The BLM's planning regulations were first adopted in 1979. The agency said it is removing overly prescriptive procedures not directed by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and that it must still comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when it writes or changes a plan.

The proposal would also drop the 90-day minimum comment period for draft plans backed by environmental impact statements. When comment is required, the period would be 30 days, which the BLM could extend by no more than 30 more.

A general public notice would replace the Federal Register notice now required when planning begins. The 60-day comment period and Federal Register notice for identifying Areas of Critical Environmental Concern would go. The agency called that period redundant because the public could still comment on those areas during other comment opportunities.

A May rule rescinding the 2024 Conservation and Landscape Health Rule restored the earlier framework for those areas, including that 60-day period. That rule drew 138,161 comment submissions, 9,132 of them unique and the rest form letters.

Protests of a proposed plan would have to be filed electronically through the BLM's NEPA register within the 30-day protest period, with no extensions, and include only the information needed to address the protest. Paper filings would end. The agency said it has waited 10 business days or more after protest periods closed for letters that might have been postmarked in time. Responses would be posted publicly, generally on BLM.gov, instead of sent by certified letter.

A BLM question-and-answer document says local government officials would get their own 30-day consistency review. The governor's appeal to the BLM director would end. The agency would no longer seek consistency with tribal plans, since federal law requires it only with state and local plans. The rule would also state that plan decisions cannot be appealed to the Office of Hearings and Appeals, which the BLM said only clarifies current law.

Comments are due Jan. 11, 2027, through regulations.gov. Comments on the rule's paperwork requirements go to the Office of Management and Budget by Dec. 10. The BLM will hold a virtual information session Dec. 3 at 5 pm Mountain time, and one for Tribes and Alaska Native corporations Dec. 10 at the same hour. The BLM said it would invite all 575 federally recognized tribes and about 200 Alaska Native corporations to consult.