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Standard Summary
Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs
The WEST Act of 2025 (S. 530) would repeal a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rule concerning conservation and landscape health. Specifically, it targets the final rule that was based on the proposed BLM rule entitled “Conservation and Landscape Health,” published as 88 Federal Register 19583 on April 3, 2023. If enacted, the bill would remove that rule from effect, effectively undoing the federal standards and requirements established by that 2023 rule. The measure is narrowly focused on repealing that single rule; it does not replace it with alternative standards or create new funding or regulatory provisions.
Key Points
- 1Repeals the BLM final rule based on the proposed “Conservation and Landscape Health” rule (88 Fed. Reg. 19583, April 3, 2023) so it would have no force or effect.
- 2Short title: This act may be cited as the “Western Economic Security Today Act of 2025” or the “WEST Act of 2025.”
- 3Legislative status and process: Introduced in the Senate on February 11, 2025 by Senator Barrasso (with several co-sponsors) and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- 4Scope: The repeal is limited to the specified BLM rule; it does not, in itself, establish new standards, funding, or regulatory programs.
- 5Practical effect: The federal rule in question would be nullified, and BLM would presumably revert to the pre-2023 regulatory framework or other applicable laws/regulations, depending on how agencies implement policy in the future.
Impact Areas
Primary group/area affected: Public land managers, the Bureau of Land Management, Western states and communities dependent on BLM lands (including sectors like ranching, energy development, and natural-resource industries) that would have been governed by the 2023 conservation and landscape health rule.Secondary group/area affected: Environmental and conservation groups that supported or opposed the 2023 rule, other federal and state agencies coordinating with BLM, and industries operating on federal lands.Additional impacts: Potential shifts in regulatory certainty and land-management practices on BLM lands; possible legal and policy debates over how conservation and landscape health are addressed in the absence of the 2023 rule; possible downstream effects on cost, planning timelines, and environmental oversight for projects on public lands.
Generated by gpt-5-nano on Nov 18, 2025