BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - U.S. Interior Department officials on Feb. 11 canceled a Trump administration directive that gave local and state officials power to block purchases of land and water for conservation.

Acting Interior Secretary Scott de la Vega rescinded a November order from former Secretary David Bernhardt that had been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats, who said the Trump administration ignored their wishes when it changed a program that is paid for billions of dollars in conservation work over more than five decades.

In November, officials announced that $125 million in...