Doug Burgum Moves To Rein In ‘Oversized’ Buffer Zones On Federal Land

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wants to rein in the size of conservation zones on federal land that ranchers, miners and others share.

The Interior Department said Thursday in a press release that it wants to rewrite the planning rules the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has followed since 1979 and “right-size” its Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs). The proposal is not yet final and will get 60 days of public comment once it appears in the Federal Register, the department said.

The department said in the release that the BLM would focus on what each designation is meant to protect “rather than on oversized buffer zones when those lands are supposed to be managed for multiple use.”

The BLM said in a May final rule that it manages about 245 million acres, roughly a tenth of all U.S. land. A Ford-era 1976 law, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), generally requires that acreage to serve “multiple use.” As the BLM puts it, that means balancing uses such as grazing, timber, mineral development and recreation along with scenic, scientific and historic values.

“Public lands are set aside for the benefit and use of the American people,” Burgum said in the release. “They should be managed by the people closest to the land, not held back by outdated bureaucracy in D.C.”

“By empowering state and local leaders and cutting decades-old red tape, we’re making it easier to conserve our natural resources, boost production and create a more affordable and abundant supply of food and energy for American families,” he added.

ACECs cover public lands where “special management attention is required to protect and prevent irreparable damage” to historic, scenic or cultural values, fish and wildlife or natural systems, according to the BLM’s website, which cites FLPMA. They can also shield people from natural hazards.

As of Sept. 30, 2025, the BLM had 1,172 sites listed as ACECs or research natural areas. They covered about 24.3 million acres combined, according to the agency’s yearly Public Land Statistics report.

That total was about 2.7 million acres higher than a year earlier, when the BLM counted 1,171 such sites covering about 21.5 million acres, according to its 2024 report. The agency notes that its acreage figures fluctuate as its land database is refined and updated.