Restore state and local approval before Land and Water Conservation Fund buys

Done

Printed page 532 16. Department of the Interior

“DOI under a conservative President must take immediate action on the 30 by 30 plan by vacating a secretarial order issued by the Biden DOI that eliminated the Trump Administration’s requirement for the approval of state and local governments before federal acquisition of private property with monies from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.”

What has happened

Sep 4, 2025 Done
SO 3442 §4(c)(5): "A written expression of support by both the affected Governor, or their verified designee, and local county or county government-equivalent (e.g., parish, borough) is required for the acquisition of land, water, or an interest in land or water under the Federal LWCF program." The order adds that all proposed fee acquisitions must fall within existing designated boundaries and that properties owned by section 501(c)(3) organizations are ineligible for hardship or emergency acquisitions. The state and local approval the Biden order eliminated is a requirement again.
- Secretary's Order 3442, signed text — §4(c)(5): written support from the affected Governor and the county is required for any Federal LWCF acquisition
  Primary Executive branch Sep 4, 2025
- Secretary's Order 3442, “Land and Water Conservation Fund Implementation by the U.S. Department of the Interior” (September 4, 2025)
  Primary Executive branch Sep 4, 2025

Research log

What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence

Research notes

SO 3388 imposed the approval requirement in 2020; the Biden order SO 3396 rescinded it. SO 3442 restores the requirement inside a new order rather than by reviving the old one — but the operative sentence is there.

Action: rescind
Object: Biden secretarial order on Land and Water Conservation Fund acquisitions
ID: 1494