On March 4, 2026, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, joined with all Utah’s congressional delegation to introduce a Joint Resolution of Disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the Biden administration’s Resource Management Plan for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
In January of 2025, Biden in one of his last acts had the Bureau of Land Management approve a sweeping new Resource Management Plan covering 1.9 million acres in Southern Utah not recognizing the State and local communities’ demands that directed all visitation, access, and allowable uses.
In a press release by Chairman Lee, it stated “the Government Accountability Office concluded that the Grand Staircase–Escalante RMP qualifies as a ‘rule’ under the Administrative Procedure Act and therefore falls within the scope of the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The GAO determined that the Plan is an agency statement of future effect with binding legal consequences, including the designation of lands as available or unavailable for certain uses. It does not fall within any of the Act’s limited exceptions.
“Under the CRA, any such rule must be submitted to both chambers of Congress and the Comptroller General before it can take effect. The Joint Resolution introduced, states that the “GAO’s determination ensures Congress exercises its statutory authority to review and, if necessary, disapprove of agency actions of the magnitude proposed by the Biden administration,” stated Chairman Lee.
If enacted, the Committee’s Joint Resolution of Disapproval would nullify the Grand Staircase–Escalante RMP and prevent the issuance of any substantially similar rule absent further authorization from Congress.
“With Garfield County sitting at the very heart of Grand Staircase–Escalante, the sweeping restrictions contained in the 2025 management plan fall squarely on the backs of our residents and small businesses,” said the Garfield County Commission. “Our communities live with the day-to-day consequences of decisions made about these lands. We appreciate our congressional delegation stepping forward to ensure these decisions receive proper review and that the voices of Garfield County are heard.
“The Antiquities Act was written to protect specific objects and to reserve only the smallest area compatible with their protection,” said Chairman Lee. “Instead, we have a 1.9 million acre, sweeping land-use regime finalized in the last days of a failed President, with generational consequences for rural Utah communities.”
“This is the right move by our federal delegation,” said Governor Cox. “The Biden Administration advanced a rigid, top-down plan without coordinating with the state, putting livestock grazing, public access, recreation, and rural Utah’s economy at risk. Rural Utahns deserve a seat at the table when decisions like this are made.”
American Stewards has published multiple stories on the Congressional Review Act being used by multiple members of Congress to stop Resource Management Plans (RMPs) that prioritized “conservation” over the “controlling” use.
