Interior Department Adopts a More Balanced Approach toward Land Management

WASHINGTON (April 10, 2014) – The Interior Department today unveiled a new, more balanced approach toward managing our public lands, a policy shift that will give equal weight to the protection of our natural resources.

The announcement details how the Interior Department, which oversees hundreds of millions of acres of the nation’s public lands and waters, can best conserve these landscapes in the face of climate change and other threats, while also allowing for responsible energy development.

Interior’s new approach is founded on the key concepts of ``mitigation’’ and ``landscape planning’’ and was articulated in a report delivered to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell by her Energy and Climate Change Task Force.

The following is a statement by Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“We commend Secretary Jewell and the Interior Department for recognizing that a new approach is needed to meet today’s challenges, including climate change. This report represents a very good start, and we look forward to working with the leadership team at the Department to ensure that it is translated into enduring conservation on the ground.’’