Over 125 Local, State, National Groups Oppose Utah Politicians' Attempt to Undo Management Plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante

WASHINGTON-Over 125 local, state, and national groups are calling on congressional leadership to oppose attacks on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah through use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA). From the coalition letter: "The CRA was never meant to be a blunt instrument to attack public lands, including national monuments. Employing it this way will destabilize land management nationwide, erode public trust, and throw collaboration and long-range planning for public lands into chaos. We urge you to reject resolutions of disapproval that target the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan and to stand with Tribal Nations, Western communities, and Americans of all political backgrounds who want these lands protected, well managed, and secure for generations to come."

Quotes and additional background information can be found below.

"Senator Lee and Rep. Maloy's assault on the Grand Staircase-Escalante is a call to action for public lands advocates from coast to coast," said Travis Hammill, DC Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "These wild public lands at its heart are quintessential southern Utah redrock country with stunning geology, irreplaceable cultural resources, unique fossils, and wide-open spaces. We're thrilled to see the many organizations and their members joining together to oppose the undoing of the monument management plan, which would set an awful precedent for public lands nationwide."

On March 4, the elected officials behind 2025's failed public lands sell-off attempts-Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02)-introduced joint resolutions (S.J.Res.109 and H.J.Res.151) to undo the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan using the CRA. If both chambers of Congress pass the measure by simple majority votes, the plan-which sets expectations for how these remarkable public lands will be managed for recreation, camping and outdoor access, collaboration with Tribal Nations, dark night skies, grazing, and other uses-will be undone and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be barred from issuing another plan that is "substantially the same" in the future. This assault on a national monument marks a significant escalation in Congress' use of the CRA and-if successful-would lead to chaos on the ground.

"Using the CRA to amend the Management Plan is a huge waste of taxpayer dollars and time, especially when more sensible and collaborative options exist to modify the plan," said Dr. Jackie Grant, Executive Director at Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners. "The Monument is a shared resource that belongs to all of us, and its management plan reflects the input of Americans who live in the communities around the Monument, as well as those who can only dream of visiting. It is dreadfully unwise to use the CRA on any Management Plan because we cannot predict which elements of the plan that we might need in the future to manage this land with care."

The Management Plan was finalized after more than two years of analysis and robust local, national, and Tribal engagement. It provides a science-based framework for stewarding one of the nation's most extraordinary public landscapes. Using the CRA to rescind the plan would not only dismantle that framework, it would also prohibit the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from issuing any future plan that is "substantially the same," creating management chaos and ensuring years of uncertainty and conflict for stakeholders.

"This is the land of our ancestors, our past, and our future. Our People have walked these desert lands and called it home. We, as Diné people, still walk these lands for ceremonies and gather medicine," said Jaylyn Gough, Founder and Executive Director of Native Womens Wilderness. "Our relatives from different tribes consider this home too. This land isn't just dirt to us; we are the land, and the land is us. We are intertwined. To take that away from us is to take a part of us away forever."

For nearly 30 years, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has protected globally significant geology, world-class paleontological resources, diverse wildlife habitat, and irreplaceable cultural sites. At the same time, the monument forms the backbone of local economies through outdoor recreation, scientific research, and tourism. A 2026 report on the economics of the monument confirms that it plays an outsized role in supporting real per capita income of local residents, as well as overall employment in the region.

"Grandstanding on the back of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to appease a select few who want to kick the public out of public lands willingly ignores local communities, business owners, and Tribes who support and rely on the balanced management of national monuments," said Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation. "It also ignores the overwhelming majority of voters in Utah and across western states who want Congress members to protect these places. It's a Congressional power grab of the country's national monuments and public lands, plain and simple, and Americans of all political identities will fight like hell to stop it."

In 2025, six Tribal Nations-the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation, the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Zuni Tribe-formed the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Inter-Tribal Coalition to advocate for the conservation of their aboriginal lands and for the continued protection and preservation of the cultural and ecological resources within the monument. The current management plan reflects close collaboration with these Tribal Nations.

"Three out of four Utahans want to see Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument protected for future generations," said Axie Navas, director of designation campaigns at The Wilderness Society. "Our children and grandchildren deserve the freedom to explore these wild and beautiful lands. Yet Senator Lee and Representative Maloy are ignoring their constituents and tossing public opinion out the window with this underhanded attack, which threatens 1.9 million acres of stunning red-rock canyon country, cultural sites, and an ancient, intact fossil record."

"Also known as the 'science monument,' Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was the first BLM monument to prioritize conservation of cultural, ecological and scientific values," said Dr. Gretchen Goldman, president and CEO of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "As a unique living record of geologic time, the monument plays a critical role in scientific research to better understand how wildlife and plant communities have remained resilient over time. Ignoring the monument's important scientific and historical value deprives people across the nation from experiencing our collective natural and cultural heritage at Grand Staircase."

Additional Information:

• The coalition letter can be found here
• March 4, 2026, Press Release-Senator Lee, Rep. Maloy Introduce Joint Resolution to Undo Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan
• February 26, 2026, Press Release-Senator Lee formally begins process to fast-track the destruction of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, which contains background information on the Monument and the Congressional Review Act
• The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Inter-tribal Coalition who have spoken against using the CRA on the Monument Management Plan
• Photos of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument can be found here
• Additional quotes can be found here

Contacts:

• Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance; (319) 427-0260; [email protected]
• Dr. Jackie Grant, Executive Director, Grand Staircase Escalante Partners; (435) 531-0241; [email protected]
• Ashley Siefert Nunes, Media Director, Union of Concerned Scientists; (952) 239-0199; [email protected]

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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America's redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at https://www.suwa.org.

Grand Staircase Escalante Partners honors the past and safeguards the future of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and its connected landscapes and watersheds through science, conservation, and education. Our team is locally based in communities around the Monument, where we partner with volunteers, Tribes, and State and Federal agencies to care for the land and learn its lessons. Learn more at https://www.gsenm.org.

Native Women's Wilderness was created to bring Native women together to share our stories, support each other, and learn from one another as we endeavor to explore and celebrate the wilderness and our native lands. Learn more at https://www.nativewomenswilderness.org.

Conservation Lands Foundation represents a national, nonpartisan network of community advocates who are solely focused on the public lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management including National Conservation Lands.

The Wilderness Society is a national conservation organization dedicated to protecting America's wild places since 1935. Through science, advocacy and partnerships with communities and policymakers, we champion the protection of wilderness, national parks, forests, and other public lands that provide clean air and water, wildlife habitat and the freedom to connect with nature. For more information, visit https://www.wilderness.org.

The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with people across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe and sustainable future. For more information, go to https://www.ucs.org.