Removing Unnecessary and Counterproductive Restrictions on Access to Federal Lands

What it does

• •Rescinds Executive Order 11644 (1972) and Executive Order 11989 (1977), which established specific criteria for designating off-road vehicle use on federal lands.
• •Directs the Secretary of Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of War, Tennessee Valley Authority, and other relevant agencies to initiate rulemakings to rescind or revise regulations implementing the prior executive orders.
• •Replaces the prior orders' specific designation criteria with a framework based on existing statutory authorities, including the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Federal Land Policy and Management Act.

Why it matters

• •The order states that the prior executive orders' criteria are vague and subjective, creating barriers to energy production, timber production, utility maintenance, and recreation access while providing limited multiple-use benefits.
• •The text asserts that rescission will provide more access to federal lands, expand recreational opportunities, and enable balanced land management by eliminating what the order characterizes as ill-defined environmental and social standards.

Who is affected

• •Federal land management agencies (Interior, Agriculture, TVA, War Department) responsible for designating off-road vehicle use areas.
• •Industries including energy and timber production and utility maintenance companies operating on federal lands.
• •The general public accessing federal lands for recreation and other uses.

What happens next

The designated federal agencies must initiate rulemakings to rescind or revise their existing regulations that implemented the two rescinded executive orders.