Senate Lets Deadline Pass For Fast Tracking Vote on National Monuments

Public Outcry Over Congressional Review Act Targeting Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Possible Factor

Boulder, UT / Washington, D.C. — Utah Senator Mike Lee has let a 60 legislative session day deadline pass without advancing his joint resolution to undo the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan using the Congressional Review Act (CRA), eliminating the ability to pass it by a simple majority vote in the Senate. The resolution, which essentially erases years of local and Tribal input and puts Congress in charge of the national monument in southern Utah, is now subject to a 60-vote threshold for passage should it be considered in the Senate. 

While apparently stalled for now, the resolution stands to put America’s national monuments in the political crosshairs of Congress and if both chambers of Congress pass the legislation, the monument management plan will be eliminated and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be barred from issuing another plan that is “substantially the same” in the future.

The action also would set a precedent for Congress to gut other national monuments and protected public lands across the country. Statement from: Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation, which represents a nonpartisan, national network of community advocates solely focused on the public lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management: 

“While this is a welcome pause, we have no reason to believe Sen. Lee will stop his attack on the country’s national monuments and Grand Staircase. Tens of thousands of people registered their opposition to this particular Congressional power grab–as hundreds of thousands have done over the past several years in support of conserving the country’s public lands. Local communities, business owners, and Tribes support and rely on the balanced management of national monuments and the overwhelming majority of voters in Utah and across western states want their Congress members to protect these places, not sell them off. We are here to make sure that Sen. Lee and other anti-public lands members of Congress cannot ignore the fact that Americans of all political identities don’t want what they’re selling and are fighting like hell to stop it.”

Jackie Grant, Executive Director of the Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, which is the local nonprofit that serves the national monument through science, conservation, and education: “We hope Sen. Lee understands that passage of this resolution would have eliminated the public’s voice, been a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars, and have set off a domino effect of management chaos across all of our public lands. Thousands of people spoke up for the Monument’s existing Resource Management Plan, from local to national levels, and they will be ready to speak up again should Senator Lee continue to come after our public lands. As a local organization, we stand with our neighbors, Tribes, educators, and conservation partners to protect this landscape and ensure it is managed for future generations.” 

Nate Waggoner, Escalante, Utah resident and Board Chair at the Grand Staircase Regional Guides Association, which represents a regional network of outdoor guides who rely on the national monument for their local businesses: “Certainty matters for outdoor businesses. Stable public land management plans allow us to book trips months in advance, small town retailers to plan for seasonal demand, and gateway communities to grow around reliable visitation numbers. We’ve been operating our business here for 22 years and having our land use plans destroyed or taken away by the Congressional Review Act would throw all of our investments into chaos. This would set a horrible precedent for the future for all of the public lands we live, love, and operate on and we hope it’s paused for good.”

Todd Tucci, Senior Attorney, Advocates for the West: “For the moment, our public lands appear safe from Senator Lee's game of legislative Russian roulette. But, we can’t rest because Senator Lee was never focused only on the southeast corner of Utah. Indeed, Senator Lee's attacked every inch of public lands -- including your favorite fishing hole, where you walk your dog, and where you take your kids hiking. So, instead of celebrating today, we intend to redouble our efforts to expose Senator Lee's efforts to point a loaded gun at the head of America's public lands."

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Background: 

The Resource Management Plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was developed over years of public engagement, Tribal consultation, and scientific review to guide multiple-use and responsible management of one of the nation’s most significant cultural and natural landscapes. While the monument remains protected under Presidential Proclamation 10286, which carries the full force of law, the Congressional maneuver injects uncertainty into monument stewardship and local economies that depend on outdoor recreation, and undermines the public process that has long governed how these treasured public lands are managed.