The federal government on Wednesday proposed rescinding a Bureau of Land Management rule that allows the department to consider conservation as part of its multi-pronged approach to federal land management. The change comes as the Trump administration continues pushing for increased resource utilization of public lands, including through logging and mining. “The harmful Public Lands Rule would have blocked access to use of public lands for outdoor recreation and also would have restricted energy production, grazing, and forest management. By rescinding the Public Lands Rule and unlocking more timber sales in Montana, we’ll be better able to manage our forests and prevent catastrophic wildfires. The BLM manages more than 8.3 million acres of federal land across Montana and the two Dakotas.