Office of the Secretary Contact: John Wright

For Release: March 11, 1997 202/208-6416

Secretary Babbitt Directs BLM to Halt Action, Go Back to the Drawing

Board With Law Enforcement Regulations

This action does not diminish the legal authority of BLM

law enforcement officers on public lands

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt announced today that he has directed the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to halt further actions on a proposal to consolidate law enforcement regulations.

Babbitt’s decision announced today comes on the heels of the second 30-day extended comment period, which expired March 7, 1997. The process was first initiated November 7, 1996, when BLM published a notification in the Federal Register announcing the proposal to consolidate existing regulations that inform the public regarding lawful conduct on public lands.

“My decision to stop further action on this proposal is based on the confusion and misinformation about how these regulations would affect BLM’s law enforcement responsibilities under existing law, as demonstrated by the many public comments received,” said Babbitt.

“This action does not diminish the legal authority of BLM law enforcement officers on public land. But it is very clear that we have not done a good job of clarifying regulations and communicating BLM’s legal authority under existing federal statutes to protect health, safety and environmental resources on America’s public lands.

“I’ve been contacted personally by Idaho Governor Phil Batt and several members of Congress, who have expressed the concerns of many,” Babbitt said.

The rule proposed by BLM attempted to revise, consolidate and rewrite most of its law

enforcement regulations, in an effort to help the public understand the actions BLM law enforcement officers may take to implement its existing law enforcement authority.

“We hear the users of the public lands and we will do all we can to help them understand the legal authority of BLM under existing federal statutes, ” said Sylvia Baca, acting director of the Bureau of Land Management. “BLM will go back to the drawing board, and any future attempt to improve existing regulations and make them more understandable by public lands users will include better public education efforts to explain the BLM law enforcement program.”

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