Utah Lawmakers Move to Throw Out Management Plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

WASHINGTON—Today, Representative Maloy and Senator Lee of Utah introduced a joint resolution to overturn the management plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. The resolution relies on the Congressional Review Act (CRA), even though the law was intended to apply to formal rules and not to agency management plans.

The National Parks Conservation Association strongly opposes this resolution because it disregards and overturns decades of community input, Tribal engagement and hard-won progress. The management plan guides future decisions for the monument’s 1.9 million acres, including recreational access, the protection of cultural sites, safeguards for wildlife habitat, restrictions in sensitive areas for off-road vehicles and more.

If this resolution passes both the House and the Senate, the Bureau of Land Management would be blocked from issuing another plan that is “substantially the same,” meaning years of public and Tribal input would be thrown out, creating uncertainty around the monument’s management.

This is the first attempt to use the CRA against a national monument management plan and would set a dangerous precedent for dozens of national monuments around the country, opening the door for management plans to be retroactively targeted. This maneuver would allow Congress to target and vote on virtually any existing public land protection decision, threatening protections for public lands nationwide.

This comes just weeks after the Boundary Waters Wilderness met the same threat, where a resolution attempting to use the CRA to roll back a 20-year mineral withdrawal narrowly passed the House.

Grand Staircase-Escalante was designated thirty years ago to protect its incredible landscape, scientific and historic resources and cultural heritage. Grand Staircase-Escalante has widespread support, with 3 out of 4 of Utah voters supporting the existing national monument designation. The monument protects water supplies for over a hundred local watersheds and contributes to Utah’s multi-billion-dollar recreation economy. Research shows the monument has helped drive economic growth and the growing service-industry job sector in Utah’s rural gateway communities.

Statement from Cory MacNulty, Southwest Campaign Director at the National Parks Conservation Association:

“This is a blatant attack that fundamentally ignores the purpose of this monument and the voices of the people who value and fought so hard to protect it. It was decided thirty years ago that Grand Staircase-Escalante would be protected for its remarkable landscape and scientific and historic resources and the monument is strongly supported by the American people. Now, members of Utah’s congressional delegation want to throw out years of work designing a careful management plan that involved Tribal consultation and community voices. This is another thinly veiled attempt to exploit this landscape for mining, oil and gas drilling, unchecked OHV use and more.

“Grand Staircase-Escalante has become a center of scientific discovery from dinosaur fossils to human history to plant and animal diversity. It’s also a centerpiece of Utah’s booming outdoor recreation economy, serving as a critical link between three crown jewels of the National Park System, Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which together preserve the region’s incredible and interconnected cultural landscape, clean air, dark night skies and sweeping vistas.”

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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.