Speak Up: Urge the Department of the Interior not to slash key public land and wildlife protections

The federal government is taking steps to roll back regulations designed to conserve our nation’s wildlife, clean water, and wild places.

The DOI’s latest initiative evaluating which regulations to eliminate could rip away a network of protections built with extensive scientific data, public input and direction from Congress.

With those regulations in tatters, threatened and endangered species could be pushed towards extinction, and public lands and fragile habitat could be exposed to reckless fossil fuel development, extractive mining and other harms.

It’s not too late to act: The DOI has launched a public comment period on which federal regulations to revise, repeal or suspend. We know that industries that want to weaken species and habitat protections will be giving their input. You can help by speaking up and urging the federal government to strengthen – not eliminate – these critical protections!

Sign your public comment urging the Department of the Interior to keep effective regulations in place and not to dismantle or weaken existing safeguards!

Message

Secretary

Doug

Burgum

Secretary of Interior

Dear Sec. Doug Burgum,

I urge the Administration to protect and strengthen—not eliminate—critical wildlife and public land protections that help maintain clean water, healthy lands, and wildlife.

The mission of the Department of the Interior (DOI) is to conserve and manage the Nation’s resources for current and future generations and provide scientific information about those resources. DOI plays a central role in implementing the Endangered Species Act, which as written is one of the strongest wildlife protection laws in the world. DOI also manages and protects large areas of public lands and waters. The current administration is now seeking to gut a wide range of regulations that protect threatened and endangered species and public lands.

The best way to avoid extinction of America’s irreplaceable wildlife is to ensure that regulations follow Congress’ mandate in the Endangered Species Act. And the best way for DOI to manage federal land and resources in accordance with its mission and statutory directives is to be proactive through strong land use planning, regulations, and policies that fulfill the ESA’s requirement to ensure species and habitats conservation always comes first when considering other uses and activities of federal lands.

I care a lot about wildlife, plants, and our public lands and want to make sure that the natural diversity of wildlife is sustained. Healthy wildlife not only enriches quality of life but also contributes an impressive amount to the economy. The government’s own studies show that wildlife recreation contributes $400 billion annually to the US economy.

Well-crafted, fair and thoughtful regulations are crucial to ensuring strong wildlife and habitat conservation outcomes. Many current regulations are based on extensive scientific data, public input, and long-standing direction from Congress, creating a structured framework that protects wildlife habitat from harmful industrial practices and environmental degradation. While there is room to make some of them stronger, weakening them like this administration plans to do would threaten our irreplaceable natural heritage.

Land use plans and regulations that recognize the importance of conserving our natural heritage like the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule are essential to managing for conservation along with other land uses across vast landscapes. These regulations have garnered broad public support. During the finalization of the Public Lands Rule, 92% of public comments received by the Bureau of Land Management supported the rule and the concept that conservation should be treated as a valid land use alongside development.

It is critical that these regulations stay in place, and I strongly oppose any efforts to dismantle or weaken any current safeguards.

Thank you,
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