Agency Suspends Advisory Panels Amid Looming Decisions

The Interior Department is undertaking a formal review of more than 200 advisory panels that assist federal agencies in managing public lands. This review comes as the Trump administration considers significant changes to land-use designations and management practices.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has instructed its 30 resource advisory councils (RACs) to postpone meetings through at least September. This directive is part of a national review of Interior's advisory panels, affecting both internal and external committees.

This suspension includes meetings of six other BLM advisory committees linked to specific sites within the National Conservation Lands system, as well as two high-profile panels: the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board and the North Slope Science Initiative Science Technical Advisory Panel in Alaska.

Other panels, such as the National Park System Advisory Board, are also affected. This board advises on matters related to the National Park Service, including the Antiquities Act, which has been a target for GOP congressional leaders.

The timing of this review means some land management recommendations, including a high-profile review of national monuments, will proceed without input from these advisory panels.

Heather Swift, an Interior spokeswoman, stated that the review aims to restore trust in the Department's decision-making. The review is designed to maximize feedback from these boards and ensure compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which mandates that advice from advisory committees is objective and accessible to the public.

Swift also noted that the review ensures compliance with recent executive orders from President Trump. These orders include a review of policies that may burden energy production on federal lands and a review of national monument boundaries designated in the last two decades.

This executive order targets more than 30 national monuments designated since 1996, initially focusing on Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.

The order requires Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to submit a report with recommendations on national monuments to the president within 120 days, before the advisory committee review is completed.

This means the Utah resource advisory council, which provides recommendations on managing 22.9 million acres of federal public lands, will not contribute to the national monument discussion. Similarly, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument advisory committee will also be excluded.

Greg Zimmerman, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities, expressed concern over this exclusion. He criticized the administration for excluding community input while taking unprecedented steps to alter national monuments.

Critics argue that canceling BLM RAC meetings signals a lack of transparency in decision-making. The RACs, appointed by the Interior secretary, are designed to guide BLM administrators on various issues, including land use planning and wild horse and burro herd management.

Despite their intended influence, there have been instances where BLM ignored RAC recommendations. For example, BLM approved the Gateway West Transmission Line Project in Idaho and the Soda Mountain Solar Project in California, despite RAC objections.

Originally posted by E&E News