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GAO Ruling Opens Congressional Path to Overturn Grand Staircase-Escalante Plan

The GAO says the unsubmitted 2025 BLM plan qualifies as a rule subject to Congressional Review Act scrutiny.

Overview

  • Utah Republicans, led by Rep. Celeste Maloy, are weighing a resolution of disapproval to rescind the plan, but no measure has been introduced.
  • Next steps require entering the GAO opinion into the congressional record, starting a roughly 60‑day window for simple‑majority votes, and a disapproval would bar any substantially similar plan.
  • A vote to nullify the monument’s plan would be the first use of the CRA on a national monument, following recent applications to other federal land‑use plans.
  • Tribal leaders and conservation groups warn that undoing the plan would weaken tribal consultation, cultural‑site safeguards, and resource protection.
  • The BLM says the plan followed years of consultation with tribes, local governments and the public, sets limits on new recreational infrastructure, and guides land use across the monument.