Community, Tribal and environmental groups filed a motion on Sept. 19 to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s new public lands rule.
The rule has stirred up controversy in the ranching community, which has argued against the agency elevating conservation as a use on par with other uses, such as grazing. North Dakota, Montana and Idaho are suing over the rule in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota.
“We are asking the court to allow us to make the case that modernizing public lands management for conservation and climate protection in the 21st century completely adheres to the broad authority and responsibility the agency bears under well-established law,” said Barbara Chillcott, senior attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center, the representing counsel for the groups.
