Congress Pushing For New Tool To Unilaterally Change Land Management Rules

Utah senator Mike Lee and representative Celeste Maloy, both Republicans, are pushing for congress to vote on changes to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). If leadership agrees to hear their argument, a vote could happen as early as next week.

This is the same mechanism that was just used to overturn protections for the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, allowing mining to occur in an area where that activity has strictly been off-limits. If Lee and Maloy are successful in changing the management plan for Grand Staircase, the CRA could continue to be a tool used by congress to force changes to land management plans over the objection of agencies and voters.

Land Tawney, co-chair of American Hunters and Anglers, recently wrote that “Once Congress establishes that national monument management plans can be erased with the stroke of a pen, places all across the country become vulnerable… especially public lands and waters rich in wildlife, hunting and fishing opportunity, and natural resources that some politicians and industrial interests see as available for development.”

How The CRA Works

The CRA allows congressional representatives to unilaterally change management plans for areas under federal control, like a national monument. The CRA was originally implemented in 1996, and states that all federal agencies must report all the rules they issue to Congress, and that Congress has authority to undo those rules if a simple majority in both houses agree to do so.

Lee, Maloy, and other proponents of the CRA claim that land management plans, such as those issued by the Bureau of Land Management, are “rules” and can therefore be amended directly by Congress. This gives them essentially unchecked authority to change land management decisions at their whim.

While the CRA was used to allow mining in the Boundary Waters, this is the first time it has been attempted to be used on a National Monument. Any decisions made under the CRA aren’t allowed to be challenged in court.

What Would Change

It’s not completely clear what changes Lee and Maloy wish to make to Grand Staircase. Writing for Utah News Dispatch, Annie Knox reported that “Maloy has said if the CRA effort is successful and signed by the president, the measure would revert the monument’s management plan to a prior version under Trump’s first administration. But that plan didn’t cover its current boundaries … leaving questions about the rules that would apply to the rest.”

The changes would also specifically state that the BLM couldn’t manage Grand Staircase in a “substantially similar manner” to how it was previously managed, which doesn’t give current officials much, if any, guidance on what activities would or would not be allowed on the land.

Knox also reported that, under current management, cattle grazing is allowed on 93% of the monument, while recreational target shooting is allowed on roughly 90%. All of Utah’s congressional delegation has said that the current management plan is “federal overreach” and that it “limits grazing and recreation.”

Moving Forward

If successful, this could pave the way for future changes to many areas throughout the west, especially as data center development ramps up in the Rocky Mountains. Opponents of the CRA worry that protections for some of the country’s best hunting and fishing could quickly be at risk.