Trump Interior Secretary’s Orders Make Public Lands Ground Zero for Drilling & Mining

By reversing the onshore oil and gas leasing rule, the Trump administration would saddle taxpayers with the costs of cleaning up after oil and gas companies while letting polluters off the hook for the damage their activities cause to our shared public lands. Rollbacks would also cause chaos for the oil and gas program, as the rule’s main purpose was to provide industry with clarity on the administration of the Inflation Reduction Act, which the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) must adhere to, regardless of whether this rule remains in place. This rollback was proposed under point 3 of the API’s agenda. 

The Trump administration has issued multiple orders to open Alaska’s wildest landscapes to drilling and mining. Reversing the Western Arctic Special Areas Rule would open more than 13 million acres of intact landscapes to oil and gas leasing and drilling. The orders will also reinstate oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (previously struck down by the courts), the crown jewel of the Arctic, and provide preferential treatment to destructive mining and pipeline projects that would destroy millions of acres of wildlands—including the Alaska LNG project and the controversial Ambler Road. These rollbacks were proposed in chapter 16 of Project 2025, chapter 32 of the America First Agenda, and point 3 of API’s agenda. 

The Trump administration is considering the elimination of national monuments that were established as far back as the Teddy Roosevelt administration, as well as other protections that shield cherished landscapes across the country from oil and gas drilling and irresponsible mining. Landscapes that are in the crosshairs include Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, Thompson Divide in Colorado, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the northeastern coast. These rollbacks were proposed in chapter 16 of Project 2025. 

The Trump administration has proposed reversing current policy and bringing back its prior interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act—which had been deemed illegal by federal courts. Reversing these actions will undo bedrock protections for more than 1,000 migratory bird species and allow industries to kill birds without consequence. This rollback was proposed in chapter 16 of Project 2025. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been ordered to review and revise the protection of “critical habitat” for more than 900 species. These actions could fundamentally weaken—and even remove—habitat protections for threatened and endangered species across the country. This rollback was proposed in chapter 16 of Project 2025. 

Project 2025 and the America First Agenda promote significant expansion of uranium mining—horrifying news for Indigenous communities in Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and elsewhere in the Southwest who have been battling for decades for the government to address the dangers and grave health impacts of legacy uranium mining. Secretary Burgum also wants uranium designated as a “critical mineral”— currently prevented by law—to allow expedited and preferential permitting. This was proposed in chapter 16 of Project 2025 and chapter 32 of the America First Agenda. 

Secretary Burgum wants to roll back the wind and solar rule that promotes clean, renewable energy and contributes to U.S. energy security and independence. This would stifle innovation, kill jobs, increase energy costs, and deprive Americans of access to cheap, responsibly sited, much-needed sources of electricity. At the same time, it would favor oil and gas development over clean energy on public lands. 

The Trump administration wants to reverse the BLM's methane waste rule and allow oil and gas facilities to vent and flare more methane into the atmosphere. This would lead to more than 150 billion cubic feet of methane escaping each year. Not only is this terrible for the planet—since methane is a potent greenhouse gas—but it would also cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year in lost revenue. This rollback was proposed in chapter 16 of Project 2025. 

The Trump administration wants to revisit a range of rules, management plans, and handbooks that were all written to ensure that the BLM is using the best tools available to both develop and conserve our precious natural resources. Despite posing little risk to oil and gas development—and bringing enormous potential for revitalizing degraded public lands—API targeted the “public lands rule” for rollback, and the Trump administration appears ready to follow its demands. These repeals were proposed in chapter 16 of Project 2025 and point 3 of API’s agenda.