Productive Public Lands Act

H.R. 1997 would require the Secretary of the Interior to reissue nine Bureau of Land Management resource management plans affecting public lands in Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. The bill specifies which alternative should be selected for each plan and would declare that these reissued documents automatically satisfy requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act, eliminating the need for further environmental analysis.

Proponents argue the bill would unlock resource development and support multiple uses of public lands including recreation, grazing, timber harvesting, drilling, and mining. They contend it would boost local economies and energy independence. Critics counter that the bill would override years of locally driven planning processes and would open threatened species habitat, particularly for the Gunnison sage-grouse, to energy development.

The bill is currently referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources and has not yet been voted on by the full chamber.