Join us in this crucial fight by reading our full letter and submitting your own public comment by Monday, 11/10.
This week, we submitted formal comments urging the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) not to rescind the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, also known as the Public Land Rule. This Rule is crucial for maintaining healthy, runnable landscapes and supporting the rural recreation economies that rely on them. The public comment period is open until Monday, 11/10. You can read our full letter here and write your own public comment to help voice why we need to protect the Public Land Rule.
What Is the Public Land Rule?
The Public Land Rule, formally known as the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, recognizes conservation and restoration as essential components of public lands management and coequal to other uses under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act’s multiple-use and sustained-yield mandate. The Rule provides the BLM with the modern, science-based tools to manage the nearly 245 million acres it oversees across the West.
These tools help protect ecological integrity, scenic quality, wildlife habitat, and recreational access. For runners, that means clearer air, safer trails, and fewer closures. For race organizers, it means more predictable permitting and healthier landscapes that can sustain long-distance events.
In short, the Public Land Rule helps keep public lands healthy, resilient, and runnable, allowing them to continue supporting the recreation economies that many rural communities rely on. Without it, decisions about public lands become more vulnerable to short-term pressures and less able to protect long-term public benefits.
Why This Matters for Runners
Trail runners feel land health in a very real way. We run on the terrain. We breathe the air. We rely on stable soils, predictable conditions, and open access.
Today, wildfire smoke, ozone exposure, extreme heat, and post-fire erosion already limit safe running days across the West. Trail washouts and flood-damaged routes close sections of long-distance trails for months. These problems become more frequent—and more severe—when landscapes are degraded.
The Public Land Rule helps prevent these disruptions by supporting resilient soils, connected habitats, and proactive restoration. It keeps trails runnable and public lands open for everyday use.
For race directors, who help sustain rural outdoor-recreation economies through annual events, the Rule is just as important. Stable, science-based management means predictable permits, consistent environmental standards, and fewer last-minute reroutes. When intact alpine meadows and desert soils can hold moisture and resist erosion, events remain viable instead of being forced to cancel or rebuild routes that take years to repair.
What We Told the BLM
In our comments, we emphasized that the Public Land Rule strengthens the BLM’s ability to balance conservation, recreation, and economic opportunity by grounding decisions in clear land-health standards and proactive, data-driven planning. We highlighted iconic running landscapes many of you know and love, from Moab’s redrock terrain to the Black Canyon Trail, the Eastern Sierra, Fruita’s desert mesas, and the CDT corridor in New Mexico, all of which depend on thoughtful stewardship and consistent management to remain healthy and accessible.
Without the Rule, local BLM field offices would struggle to protect fragile soils, maintain trail continuity, and provide predictable permitting for races. Rescinding it would take us backward toward more fragmented trails, poorer air quality, greater erosion, and increased uncertainty for both everyday runners and race organizers. The result would be more closures and more economic instability for the rural communities that rely on outdoor recreation.
In short: the Public Land Rule is the difference between reactive crisis management and resilient, long-term care for the places we run.
To read our full letter, click here.
Take Action: Submit Your Comment by Monday, November 10
Now it’s your turn. The Bureau of Land Management is accepting public comments until Monday, November 10. Your timely response is crucial in this fight to protect our public lands.
Remember, your voice matters. A short, personal message about why public lands and trail access are important to you can make a real difference. Your unique perspective can help shape the future of our public lands.
You can submit your comment directly through the Federal Register portal here.
Together, we can make sure the BLM hears from runners who care deeply about protecting public lands for future generations. Every comment counts, and together, we can make a powerful statement.
Thank you for showing up, for speaking out, and for being part of a community that runs with purpose.