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Friday, Nov. 14, 2025

Would a federal repeal of the Public Lands Rule reduce protections for Arizona’s outdoor recreation areas?

Tallulah Anne, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
yes

Arizona’s outdoor recreation areas could be at risk if the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule is repealed. Established in 2024, the rule requires that conservation and outdoor recreation be given equal priority alongside mining, grazing and energy development—a shift that aims to protect ecosystems and maintain public access to climbing, hiking and biking areas.

Large portions of southern Arizona, including swaths of the Sonoran Desert, currently benefit from these safeguards.

The Department of the Interior has proposed repealing the rule, saying the move would “restore balanced multiple use” of public lands by removing regulatory burdens. Conservation and recreation groups, including the Outdoor Alliance, argue that rescinding the rule would weaken protections for recreation areas and leave Arizona’s trails, climbing routes and natural landscapes more vulnerable to industrial development and habitat degradation.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.

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