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Congresswoman Celeste Maloy (UT-02) today introduced a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reject the Biden administration's 2025 Resource Management Plan (RMP) for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, returning management of the monument to the 2020 RMP that was developed with the input and support of local communities. The resolution is being led in the Senate by Utah Senator Mike Lee, and is cosponsored by Utah Senator John Curtis in the Senate and Utah Representatives Blake Moore (UT-01), Mike Kennedy (UT-03), and Burgess Owens (UT-04) in the House.

What the Resolution Does

This resolution would reject the Biden administration's 2025 RMP and restore the 2020 plan developed collaboratively with the Trump administration, local governments, and southern Utah communities. The monument's footprint is unchanged. The 2020 plan reinstates multiple-use access to lands the Biden administration had effectively closed through its RMP.

Importantly, none of this land stops being federal land. The entire area would revert to standard Bureau of Land Management (BLM) management, maintaining the full protections that apply to all federal public land while restoring road access and traditional uses like hunting, grazing, and responsible land stewardship.

"The 2025 Biden RMP was written without the people it affects most having any real seat at the table,” said Rep. Maloy. “That's not how land management should work. The 2020 plan was built with local communities, balanced conservation with access, and reflected the realities of life in southern Utah. This resolution uses Congress's constitutional responsibility to check executive overreach and returns management to a plan that actually listens to the people on the ground. And to be clear: this land remains federal land. It remains protected. What changes is that the communities who live here get their voice back."

Background: Grand Staircase-Escalante Resource Management Plans

The 2025 Biden RMP was developed with little to no meaningful input from local leaders, county governments, or the people who live and work in the region. It was opposed by virtually every local elected official in the area.

That stands in sharp contrast to the 2020 RMP, which reflected years of coordination with local stakeholders and was designed to balance conservation with the real-world needs of communities that depend on access to the land. The consequences of ignoring those communities are well-documented. When President Clinton created the monument in 1996 — over the objections of the entire Utah congressional delegation and local leadership — mining operations in the region shut down, economies collapsed, schools closed, and families left.

Background: The Congressional Review Act

The CRA allows Congress to reject a federal agency rule within a 60-legislative-session-day window after the rule is formally reported to Congress. It requires only a simple majority in both chambers, bypassing the 60-vote threshold required to break a Senate filibuster. The CRA gives Congress the authority to review and reject federal agency rules through a simple majority vote, a tool designed to ensure the legislative branch retains meaningful oversight over executive agency decisions with the force of law.

“We have a 1.9 million acre, sweeping land-use regime finalized in the final days of a failed President, with generational consequences for rural Utah communities,” said Sen. Mike Lee. “Congress does not surrender its oversight responsibility simply because an agency labels something a ‘plan’ rather than a ‘rule.’ The GAO has now confirmed what the law makes clear: this Resource Management Plan is a rule. It carries binding consequences.  It shapes what can and cannot occur across millions of acres. Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has the right to review it.”

Local Support

Garfield County Commissioners Jerry Taylor, Leland Pollock, and David Tebbs wrote in support of the CRA: “Despite extensive written comments, alternative proposals, and supporting data, very little of the County’s input was incorporated into the final plan. The GAO’s determination provides Congress with an appropriate opportunity to review the plan and consider whether it reflects a lawful, coordinated, and balanced approach to land management. Given the lack of meaningful coordination with affected local governments, Garfield County supports congressional oversight and review under the CRA.”

Kane County Commissioners Gwen Brown, Celeste Meyers, and Patty Kubeja joined in supporting the resolution: “The Kane County Commission supports congressional action under the Congressional Review Act to disapprove the BLM Record of Decision and Resource Management Plan for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The Commission urges Congress to ensure that future land management reflects statutory intent, respects local governments, and preserves reasonable access and multiple-use opportunities.”

Utah Delegation Statements

“Our lands are best managed and most appreciated by those who live closest to them. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration’s overreaching management plan for the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument clearly does not reflect the full spectrum of voices who live and work in the area,” said Senator Curtis. “This resolution will help ensure that future management plans better serve the long-term interests of Utahns, not distant federal agencies.”

“Major land-use decisions impacting millions of acres and generations of Utahns should not bypass congressional oversight. No one manages Utah’s lands better than the people of Utah,” said Representative Moore. “We have shown that we can protect natural treasures while also supporting grazing, recreation, tourism, and responsible energy development. We’ve consistently demonstrated that we deserve a seat at the table, and this decision will help ensure Utah’s lands are not used by administrations to advance political goals that ignore local needs, thereby avoiding Congressional oversight.”

"We must ensure that Utah has a meaningful voice in how land within its borders is managed, allow for responsible mineral development and energy production, strengthen local economies and support domestic resource security,” said Representative Kennedy. “We can protect the landscape while also recognizing the importance of jobs, access, and state input in federal land decisions.”

“For too long, Grand Staircase–Escalante has been used as a political talking point in Washington,” said Representative Owens. “Almost 30 years ago, in Arizona and with his back turned to Utah, President Clinton abused the Antiquities Act that locked up millions of acres of Utah. Then again, thousands of miles away in the in a last-ditch effort to enshrine a failed legacy of an awful president, this overreaching rule was issued in both instances these sweeping decisions framed as "environmental victories” sidelined the voices of southern Utah. The people who live, work, and raise their families near these lands deserve a seat at the table. Our responsibility is not to score political points — it is to improve quality of life, protect rural jobs, and ensure local communities are heard. The GAO has confirmed this action qualifies as a rule, and Congress has a duty to conduct a thorough review with meaningful input from community leaders and stakeholders across southern Utah.”