Updated 3/2/2026
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If a policy is "Open for comment" → submit a comment (I've included The Conservation Current's comment in 3–5 sentences).
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Conservation Current
Public Lands & Energy Tracker
Top 5 open comment periods & active legislation · March 2026
#1 · Critical
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — 2026 Oil & Gas Lease Sale
Open for comment
🌍 Why it matters
On Feb. 3, 2026, BLM opened a 30-day comment and nomination period for the first ANWR Coastal Plain oil and gas lease sale mandated under the 2025 "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" — reversing Biden-era protections for the entire 1.56-million-acre coastal plain. This is one of the most consequential front-door leasing decisions in a generation. Development directly threatens the Porcupine Caribou Herd's calving grounds, denning polar bears, and over 200 species of migratory birds. Once the door opens, it is nearly impossible to close.
📅 Comments due: March 5, 2026 — URGENT
📧 Email or mail to BLM Alaska
✍️ Sample comment / message to your Senator
I am writing to urge Senator ___ to oppose new oil and gas leasing on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's Coastal Plain. The entire 1.56-million-acre coastal plain is the calving ground for the Porcupine Caribou Herd, critical denning habitat for polar bears, and a seasonal home for more than 200 species of migratory birds. These are irreplaceable ecological relationships built over millennia — and once industrial development begins, they cannot be restored. I believe the long-term costs of losing this landscape will far exceed any short-term energy benefit. Please oppose ANWR leasing and call on BLM to honor its conservation obligations under FLPMA.
#2 · Critical
California BLM Oil & Gas Leasing — Supplemental EIS (Bakersfield & Central Coast)
Open for comment
🌍 Why it matters
This is the rules-and-map moment for where oil and gas leasing resumes across huge swaths of California public land. The administration has moved to open more than one million acres — including nearly 400,000 acres overlapping state parks, beaches, and ecological reserves — to new leasing framed as energy security. The Supplemental EIS is the last major public participation window to lock in no-go zones, buffer areas, and enforceable conservation limits before lease parcels are designated. What gets drawn on the map here shapes the next decade of extraction in California.
📅 Comments due: March 13, 2026
🖱️ Click "Participate Now" at BLM ePlanning
✍️ Sample comment / message to your Senator
I am writing to urge Senator ___ to push BLM to use the California Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement process to establish firm no-go zones around state parks, beaches, and ecological reserves before any leasing resumes. More than one million acres — including nearly 400,000 acres overlapping protected areas — are under consideration for oil and gas leasing across California. The EIS process is the last structured opportunity to write enforceable conservation boundaries into the record. Once parcels are designated and leased, those protections become nearly impossible to restore. Please call on BLM to prioritize conservation buffers over extraction proximity in this EIS.
#3 · High
BLM Oil & Gas Commingling Rule (BLM-2025-0070) — Royalty Accountability on 245M Acres
Open for comment
🌍 Why it matters
BLM's proposed rule updates regulations on "commingling" — the practice of mixing oil and gas from multiple wells before royalty measurement. Conservation and tribal advocates warn the changes reduce accountability for exactly how much is being extracted on public and tribal lands, making royalty underpayments harder to detect and audit. Royalties are the mechanism by which the public is compensated for the extraction of non-renewable resources from federal land — weakening measurement requirements affects every American who shares in that revenue, and disproportionately harms tribal nations whose land rights depend on accurate accounting across all 245 million BLM-managed acres.
📅 Comments due: March 31, 2026
📋 Docket: BLM-2025-0070
✍️ Sample comment / message to your Senator
I am writing to urge Senator ___ to scrutinize BLM's proposed oil and gas commingling rule (BLM-2025-0070). When oil and gas from multiple wells is mixed before royalty measurement, it becomes significantly harder to verify the volume extracted from any individual lease — including leases on tribal and public lands. Accurate measurement is the foundation of royalty accountability. Reducing that accountability means the American public and tribal nations may be systematically underpaid for the extraction of resources that belong to them. I urge you to demand that BLM maintain rigorous, auditable measurement standards and reject any changes that prioritize industry convenience over transparent public accounting.
#4 · High
DOI NEPA Rollback — Interior Rescinds 80% of Environmental Review Rules
Final Feb 24 — support litigation
🌍 Why it matters
On Feb. 24, 2026 — just six days ago — the Department of Interior finalized a rule rescinding over 80% of its NEPA implementing regulations, eliminating binding environmental review requirements across all DOI agencies including BLM and the National Park Service. These are the rules that guaranteed the public a seat at the table before pipelines, mines, and roads were approved on public land. The Sierra Club and others have already filed suit. The comment window is closed, but calling your senators to support legislative fixes — and backing the litigation — is the next best lever.
⚡ Final rule — support litigation & call now
📅 Effective: February 24, 2026
✍️ Sample comment / message to your Senator
I am writing to urge Senator ___ to support legislative action to restore NEPA protections following the Department of Interior's February 24 final rule rescinding over 80% of its environmental review regulations. NEPA has for more than 50 years guaranteed that communities, tribal nations, and the public have a voice before federal agencies approve drilling, mining, and road-building on public land. Removing binding review requirements doesn't make development smarter — it removes the procedural check that surfaces costs and trade-offs before decisions are made. I urge you to co-sponsor legislation that restores mandatory, binding environmental review requirements for all DOI-managed public land projects.
#5 · High
BLM Western Oil & Gas Lease Sales — Colorado, Utah & Nevada Protest Windows Closing
Protest deadline
🌍 Why it matters
BLM has announced competitive March 31, 2026 oil and gas lease sales across three states: 90 parcels (52,703 acres) in Colorado, 57 parcels (68,632 acres) in Utah, and 11 parcels (19,957 acres) in Nevada — for a combined 141,292 acres of Western public lands entering the leasing pipeline in a single month. Many parcels fall in greater sage-grouse habitat, mule deer and elk migration corridors, and headwaters that supply downstream communities. The formal protest period closes March 2, 2026 for many parcels, making this the last structured public intervention point before the sale.
📅 Protest deadline: March 2, 2026 — TODAY
📅 Lease sale: March 31, 2026
✍️ Sample comment / message to your Senator
I am writing to urge Senator ___ to call on BLM to exclude parcels that overlap greater sage-grouse habitat, mule deer and elk migration corridors, and critical headwaters before the March 31 Western lease sales proceed in Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. Over 140,000 acres are entering the leasing pipeline in a single month. Leases are not drilling permits, but they are the first and most consequential step — once leased, parcels become extremely difficult to pull back, and meaningful conservation deferrals become much harder to enforce. I ask you to use your oversight role to demand that BLM prioritize wildlife and watershed values, and ensure no parcel moves to bid without adequate environmental review.
Conservation Current
Watchlist & Upcoming Comment Periods
Set your calendar — these windows are opening soon · March 2026
How to use this page: These are comment periods opening soon or currently open but with later deadlines — your runway to prepare. Set a calendar reminder now. Even 3–5 sentences submitted during a comment period creates a formal public record that agencies must address. Quantity matters — the more comments, the harder to ignore.
🗓️ Top 3 Upcoming Comment Periods
#1 · High — closes March 19
BLM Alaska — 4 Parcels, 10,211 Acres for June 2026 Lease SaleOpen now
🌍 Why it matters
BLM has opened a 30-day comment period on 4 oil and gas parcels totaling 10,211 acres slated for a June 23, 2026 lease sale in Alaska — the second Alaska lease action following ANWR's coastal plain nomination call in the same month. This is part of the administration's explicit push to treat Alaska as the cornerstone of its domestic energy strategy. These parcels sit adjacent to some of the most ecologically sensitive tundra and riparian habitat in North America, where a warming climate is already accelerating permafrost loss and disrupting subsistence hunting and fishing that Indigenous communities depend on.
📅 Comments due: March 19, 2026
📍 Sale date: June 23, 2026
✍️ Sample comment / message to your Senator
I am urging Senator ___ to oppose the June 23, 2026 BLM Alaska lease sale of 10,211 acres of tundra habitat. This sale is part of a coordinated push to open Alaska's most ecologically sensitive landscapes to extraction — in the same month that ANWR nominations were solicited. The Conservation Current has tracked how each individual Alaska leasing action is a building block in a strategy that, taken together, represents the largest expansion of Arctic fossil fuel access in a generation. Please call on BLM to pause Alaska lease sales until a comprehensive regional environmental review is completed.
#2 · High — closes March 23
BLM New Mexico, Oklahoma & Texas — 32 Parcels, 21,181 Acres (August 2026 Scoping)Open now
🌍 Why it matters
BLM has opened a 30-day scoping period on 32 parcels totaling 21,181 acres across New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas for a potential August 2026 lease sale. Scoping is the earliest formal public input stage — before the environmental analysis is even written — making it the highest-leverage moment to push for meaningful wildlife stipulations, buffer zones, and water protection requirements. Parcels in the New Mexico portion fall in the Permian Basin, already one of the most heavily drilled regions on federal land, where cumulative impacts on pronghorn, mule deer, and desert grassland bird species are poorly studied.
📅 Scoping ends: March 23, 2026
📍 BLM New Mexico State Office
✍️ Sample comment / message to your Senator
I am urging Senator ___ to call on BLM to require rigorous cumulative impact analysis for the 32 proposed parcels in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas before any August 2026 lease sale proceeds. Scoping is the moment in the process where agencies are most receptive to shaping the scope of their own analysis — and the Conservation Current has documented how Permian Basin public lands are already among the most over-leased federal landscapes in the country, with cumulative impacts on wildlife that have never been comprehensively studied. Please push BLM to include wildlife connectivity, water quality, and noise impact analysis in the scope of their environmental review.
#3 · High — closes March 30
BLM Utah — 39 Parcels, 54,114 Acres Near Canyon Country (June 2026 Sale)Open now
🌍 Why it matters
BLM has opened a 30-day comment period on 39 oil and gas parcels totaling 54,114 acres for a June 2026 lease sale in Utah. Many parcels are located near or adjacent to Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante — landscapes already reduced in size and under ongoing political pressure. Public comment is the last structured opportunity to push BLM to defer parcels that overlap monument buffer zones, desert tortoise habitat, pronghorn migration corridors, and the canyon country watershed that supports both downstream communities and Utah's $12 billion outdoor recreation economy.
📅 Comments due: March 30, 2026
📍 Sale date: June 2026
✍️ Sample comment / message to your Senator
I am urging Senator ___ to demand that BLM defer any Utah lease sale parcels that fall within or adjacent to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument boundaries. The 54,114 acres currently proposed for June leasing include canyon country habitat that is irreplaceable — for desert tortoise, golden eagles, pronghorn, and for Utah's outdoor recreation economy. The Conservation Current has covered how monument boundary reductions have already opened this landscape to greater extraction pressure. Adding oil and gas leases in the remaining buffer zones removes the last layer of protection for these places. Please hold BLM accountable to meaningful conservation deferrals.
🔔 Public Land Sales — Ownership Transfers 500+ Acres
No formal sales with open comment periods as of March 2, 2026
Actual fee-simple public land sales (permanent title transfers, not leases) are rare under FLPMA. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act's mass land-sale provisions — which would have mandated disposal of up to 1.8 million acres — were stripped after bipartisan opposition in June 2025.
However, Sen. Lee has vowed to reintroduce legislation, and BLM retains standing authority under FLPMA to sell individual parcels without a congressional vote — as long as Congress doesn't formally disapprove within 90 days for sales over 2,500 acres. Watch the three active threats below.
Actual fee-simple public land sales (permanent title transfers, not leases) are rare under FLPMA. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act's mass land-sale provisions — which would have mandated disposal of up to 1.8 million acres — were stripped after bipartisan opposition in June 2025.
However, Sen. Lee has vowed to reintroduce legislation, and BLM retains standing authority under FLPMA to sell individual parcels without a congressional vote — as long as Congress doesn't formally disapprove within 90 days for sales over 2,500 acres. Watch the three active threats below.
#1 · Watch — legislation pending
Sen. Lee Public Land Sale Legislation — Expected Reintroduction in 2026Legislation threat
📋 Status
Sen. Mike Lee's public land sale provisions were stripped from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in June 2025 on a technicality (Byrd Rule violation). He publicly vowed to reintroduce the legislation as standalone or attached to another vehicle. No bill number has been filed as of March 2, 2026 — but Lee chairs the Senate Natural Resources Committee and has legislative tools available. This is the highest-risk structural threat to Western public lands in 2026.
🌍 Why it matters
Lee's original proposals would have mandated BLM disposal of up to 1.8 million acres — including lands in Conservation Lands designations, backcountry areas, and recreation hotspots across Utah, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, and beyond. The stripped provisions were only blocked on a procedural technicality, not on policy grounds, meaning they could return at any time. The Conservation Current covered how the final reconciliation law mandated quarterly lease sales, cut royalty rates, and eliminated BLM's discretion to defer harmful leases — the land sale fight is round two.
👀 Watch for bill introduction — 2026
📋 Prior bills: S. 1459 (2025)
✍️ Sample preemptive message to your Senator
I am urging Senator ___ to publicly commit to opposing any reintroduction of Sen. Lee's public land sale legislation, whether as a standalone bill or attached to another vehicle in 2026. The fact that his proposals were stripped from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act only on a procedural technicality — not on policy opposition — means this fight is not over. The Conservation Current has documented that once public land changes hands, it is gone from the federal estate permanently. There is no do-over. Please make your opposition public and unequivocal before another bill is filed.
#2 · Watch — ongoing
SNPLMA Nevada Fast-Track Land Disposals — Las Vegas Metro Area OngoingRolling sales
📋 Status
Active and ongoing. The Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) creates a special fast-track authority for BLM to sell public lands in Clark County, Nevada for private and local government development — with proceeds going to regional conservation and recreation. BLM conducts multiple SNPLMA sales annually. Individual parcels are frequently under 500 acres, but cumulative sales in 2025–2026 total thousands of acres. The administration has signaled interest in expanding SNPLMA-style frameworks to other Western states.
🌍 Why it matters
SNPLMA is the existing template for fast-tracking public land sales, and the current administration has signaled it may extend SNPLMA-style disposal authority to Nevada counties beyond Clark County and potentially to other states. While many SNPLMA sales are routine disposals of isolated, low-value parcels, the program is also being used to accelerate sales of larger desert habitat parcels adjacent to growth corridors — with shortened review timelines and less public scrutiny than standard FLPMA disposals require. This is the quiet mechanism to watch alongside the high-profile Lee legislation.
👀 Monitor BLM Nevada notices quarterly
📍 Clark County, NV + expansion risk
✍️ Sample message to your Senator
I am urging Senator ___ to oppose any expansion of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act's fast-track disposal framework to additional Nevada counties or other Western states. SNPLMA was designed as a targeted, locally-accountable mechanism — expanding it into a national template for public land sales would remove habitat protections, shorten environmental review windows, and replicate a system that was never designed for the scale being proposed. The Conservation Current tracks how these quiet, incremental disposal mechanisms add up to structural change over time. Please commit to opposing any SNPLMA expansion legislation.