Press Releases

President Donald Trump signed into law a Congressional Review Act resolution introduced by Representative Celeste Maloy (UT-02), Senator John Curtis (R-UT), and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) that overturns a National Park Service rule and restores the use of off-road vehicles (ORVs) and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) on 24 miles of park roads in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

“When Utahns found out that the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area’s Travel Management Plan included nonsensical restrictions on motorized access, they reached out for help. We took legislative action and, through this CRA, reversed a rule pushed through by the previous administration. Utahns shouldn’t be shut out of decisions that affect their own backyard. Now we can continue to recreate in the National Recreation Area. Thank you to our Senators for working with me to get this done for Utah,” said Rep. Maloy.

“Restoring off-road access in Glen Canyon is an important step to ensure our public lands remain open to the people—not closed off by Washington bureaucrats,” said Senator Curtis. “I’m proud to have worked alongside Senator Lee and Representative Maloy to get this bill signed into law and make sure the voices of Utahns were not just heard, but respected. I look forward to getting out to Glen Canyon and enjoying its roads with my fellow Utahns.”

“This was a classic case of sue-and-settle policymaking where bureaucrats caved to activists and cut Americans out of the process. That’s not how representation is supposed to work,” said Senator Lee. “I’m proud President Trump signed this CRA into law—making it clear that environmental groups don’t get to dictate our National Recreation Areas through backroom deals. That’s exactly what happened at Glen Canyon, and this law puts a stop to it. If it says, ‘National Recreation Area’ on the map, people should be able to recreate there.”

Background:

On February 12, a National Park Service rule went into effect restricting the use of ORVs and street-legal ATVs on 24 miles of park roads in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The route includes an 8-mile segment of the Poison Spring Loop and access roads to Lake Powell. Rep. Maloy filed a resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) which allows Congress to overturn agency rules with a simple majority vote in both chambers and within 60 legislative days of the rule being submitted to Congress. It also prohibits the agency from issuing a new rule that is “substantially the same” as the disapproved rule unless authorized by subsequent legislation.