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The Department of the Interior has announced a nationwide review of rock climbing management policies and Wilderness Study Area (WSA) management across federal lands. While the announcement focuses on modernizing public land policies, it also represents something BlueRibbon Coalition has been advocating for over many years: reforming the outdated policies that keep millions of acres locked in perpetual Wilderness Study Area status.
More importantly, this review comes only months after BlueRibbon Coalition formally petitioned the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management to revise BLM Manual 6330—the agency guidance that governs how Wilderness Study Areas are managed.
For BRC members and public land users, this announcement is more than just another agency review. It is a real opportunity to finally correct decades of policy that have transformed temporary study areas into Wilderness without congressional action.
At the beginning of this year, BlueRibbon Coalition submitted a formal Administrative Petition to the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management calling for comprehensive revisions to BLM Manual 6330, "Management of Wilderness Study Areas."
The petition argues that current WSA management policies have evolved far beyond what Congress intended when it created the Wilderness Study Area process under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). According to the petition, many Wilderness Study Areas are now managed as if they are permanent wilderness despite never receiving congressional designation.
The petition further argues that BLM's current "non-impairment" management standard has effectively displaced FLPMA's multiple-use mandate and resulted in millions of acres being managed under wilderness-style restrictions indefinitely.
When Congress passed FLPMA in 1976, it directed the Bureau of Land Management to identify and study lands that might qualify for wilderness designation.
The purpose was straightforward: study the land, make recommendations, and allow Congress to decide whether those lands should become designated wilderness.
Instead, many of these areas have remained trapped in administrative limbo for decades.
As BRC explained in its petition, Wilderness Study Areas were intended to be temporary review areas—not permanent land classifications. Yet many continue to be managed under restrictions similar to those imposed on designated wilderness, even though Congress has never acted to designate them as such.
This is particularly problematic for Section 202 Wilderness Study Areas, where agency policies have increasingly treated lands as de facto wilderness despite the absence of clear statutory authority requiring that management approach.
For years, BRC has met with Interior officials, Bureau of Land Management leadership, congressional offices, and administration representatives to discuss these concerns and advocate for restoring multiple-use management to lands that have already been studied.
Our position has remained consistent:
Study areas should be studied—not managed as wilderness forever.
In its petition, BlueRibbon Coalition called for significant reforms to Manual 6330, including:
Most importantly, BRC argued that lands that have already been studied should not remain under indefinite wilderness-style management simply because Congress chose not to designate them as wilderness.
The Department of the Interior's newly announced review creates the first major opportunity in years to address these longstanding concerns.
The review specifically invites public input on Wilderness Study Area management policies and whether existing guidance should be updated.
For BlueRibbon Coalition, this is exactly the conversation we have been pushing to have.
For years, agency manuals and internal guidance have driven management decisions that often go beyond what Congress actually required. The result has been restricted access, deferred recreation projects, trail closures, and management practices that increasingly resemble designated wilderness management.
BRC opposes the creation of "administrative wilderness" through agency policy. Only Congress can designate wilderness. Federal agencies should not use internal manuals to create permanent wilderness management where Congress has not acted. Public lands belong to the American people and should be managed according to the law—not according to temporary study designations that never seem to end.
BlueRibbon Coalition is continuing to push for revisions to BLM Manual 6330 and reforms to Wilderness Study Area management policies nationwide.
Sign our petition supporting reform of Wilderness Study Area management and modernization of BLM Manual 6330.
Tell the Department of the Interior that lands that have already been studied should not remain locked in perpetual wilderness-style management.
It's time to restore multiple-use management, protect public access, and ensure that federal agencies follow congressional intent.
Together, we can help bring decades of unfinished WSA policy back in line with the law.
Continue reading...
More importantly, this review comes only months after BlueRibbon Coalition formally petitioned the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management to revise BLM Manual 6330—the agency guidance that governs how Wilderness Study Areas are managed.
For BRC members and public land users, this announcement is more than just another agency review. It is a real opportunity to finally correct decades of policy that have transformed temporary study areas into Wilderness without congressional action.
BRC Didn't Wait for This Review
At the beginning of this year, BlueRibbon Coalition submitted a formal Administrative Petition to the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management calling for comprehensive revisions to BLM Manual 6330, "Management of Wilderness Study Areas."
The petition argues that current WSA management policies have evolved far beyond what Congress intended when it created the Wilderness Study Area process under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). According to the petition, many Wilderness Study Areas are now managed as if they are permanent wilderness despite never receiving congressional designation.
The petition further argues that BLM's current "non-impairment" management standard has effectively displaced FLPMA's multiple-use mandate and resulted in millions of acres being managed under wilderness-style restrictions indefinitely.
The Problem: Temporary Study Areas Have Become Permanent
When Congress passed FLPMA in 1976, it directed the Bureau of Land Management to identify and study lands that might qualify for wilderness designation.
The purpose was straightforward: study the land, make recommendations, and allow Congress to decide whether those lands should become designated wilderness.
Instead, many of these areas have remained trapped in administrative limbo for decades.
As BRC explained in its petition, Wilderness Study Areas were intended to be temporary review areas—not permanent land classifications. Yet many continue to be managed under restrictions similar to those imposed on designated wilderness, even though Congress has never acted to designate them as such.
This is particularly problematic for Section 202 Wilderness Study Areas, where agency policies have increasingly treated lands as de facto wilderness despite the absence of clear statutory authority requiring that management approach.
For years, BRC has met with Interior officials, Bureau of Land Management leadership, congressional offices, and administration representatives to discuss these concerns and advocate for restoring multiple-use management to lands that have already been studied.
Our position has remained consistent:
Study areas should be studied—not managed as wilderness forever.
What BRC Is Asking For
In its petition, BlueRibbon Coalition called for significant reforms to Manual 6330, including:
- Replacing the current "non-impairment" standard with a Multiple-Use Compatibility Standard.
- Ending management practices that treat WSAs as permanent wilderness in the absence of congressional designation.
- Restoring FLPMA's multiple-use mandate.
- Protecting motorized and mechanized recreation access.
- Maintaining and restoring access routes, roads, and trails.
- Preventing agencies from managing WSAs for the purpose of maximizing future wilderness designation.
Most importantly, BRC argued that lands that have already been studied should not remain under indefinite wilderness-style management simply because Congress chose not to designate them as wilderness.
Why We Need Your Help
The Department of the Interior's newly announced review creates the first major opportunity in years to address these longstanding concerns.
The review specifically invites public input on Wilderness Study Area management policies and whether existing guidance should be updated.
For BlueRibbon Coalition, this is exactly the conversation we have been pushing to have.
For years, agency manuals and internal guidance have driven management decisions that often go beyond what Congress actually required. The result has been restricted access, deferred recreation projects, trail closures, and management practices that increasingly resemble designated wilderness management.
BRC opposes the creation of "administrative wilderness" through agency policy. Only Congress can designate wilderness. Federal agencies should not use internal manuals to create permanent wilderness management where Congress has not acted. Public lands belong to the American people and should be managed according to the law—not according to temporary study designations that never seem to end.
Take Action
BlueRibbon Coalition is continuing to push for revisions to BLM Manual 6330 and reforms to Wilderness Study Area management policies nationwide.
Sign our petition supporting reform of Wilderness Study Area management and modernization of BLM Manual 6330.
Tell the Department of the Interior that lands that have already been studied should not remain locked in perpetual wilderness-style management.
It's time to restore multiple-use management, protect public access, and ensure that federal agencies follow congressional intent.
Together, we can help bring decades of unfinished WSA policy back in line with the law.
Continue reading...