The Administrative Presidency and Public Lands Regulatory Change

Abstract This research focuses on the efforts taken by recent Presidents to alter the direction of several federal land policies administered by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service through rulemaking processes. Of particular concern here are three programs – the hardrock mining program under BLM’s jurisdiction, the grazing program managed by both agencies, and the Forest Service’s handling of the roadless area policy. An examination of these regulations reveals far reaching differences when compared with earlier versions of these rules developed under President Clinton. From a substantive policy perspective, all three regulations were designed to increase natural resource production under Bush while the rules initiated by Clinton and Obama placed greater emphasis on environmental conservation. Thus, Presidents will occasionally stretch the boundaries of statutory interpretation to maximize regulatory policy impact. However, this strategy is also accompanied by a degree of political risk since groups opposed to new rules may react by mounting legal challenges in the federal courts.