Thanks to you, we once again defended our national monuments
On June 8, we celebrated the 120th anniversary of the Antiquities Act. This bedrock law gives presidents the authority to protect national monuments for future generations. From Denali to the Grand Canyon to the Statue of Liberty, it has safeguarded public lands, waters, and historic and cultural sites across the country. These designations honor our nation's history and connections to the natural world. But at the same time, we were in the midst of yet another fight to defend an iconic landscape.
In March, Utah Senator Mike Lee and Representative Celeste Maloy introduced Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to overturn the management plan for the spectacular Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. Despite the monument's overwhelming popularity with Utahns and visitors from around the world, it has been a frequent target for a Utah delegation that infamously wants to sell-off our public lands and massively increase extractive uses. This attack was unprecedented: it was the first attempt to use this process—an obscure law intended for Congress to disapprove of federal agency "rules" through a simple majority vote - to threaten a national monument.
This management plan and its protections were developed after multiple years of Tribal consultation, public input, and scientific analysis. It sets expectations for how these lands will be managed for outdoor access, collaboration with Tribal Nations, and other uses. Passing a CRA resolution would toss all of that out, and prevent the Bureau of Land Management from creating a plan that is "substantially the same" in the future. The result would be chaos on the ground, and uncertainty for all who use and enjoy this majestic landscape.
Thankfully, public land advocates quickly began to mobilize across the country. At the Sierra Club, we have chapters and volunteers in every state and can therefore play a critical role in these efforts. Our primary Congressional targets included Republicans who have supported some public land issues and Democrats who have wavered on some. Geographically, they spanned from California to Maine. The Utah Chapter and our Utah Wilderness Team provided inspiration through partnerships with the Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, local business leaders, scientists, and other Utah voices urging action in other states.
And Sierra Club state-based chapters chapters, volunteer leaders, and staff heeded the call. We sent thousands of emails to Representatives and Senators. We submitted letters-to-the-editor in local papers, created blog posts, and uplifted the effort on social media. We called Congress and collaborated with partners to organize in-district or virtual meetings between constituents and Congressional staff. During those meetings, Sierra Club volunteers not only shared a concern for the future of Grand Staircase-Escalante, but expressed how popular public lands in their region could someday be impacted if Congress continued escalating attacks on public land plans and protections. And then in May, the Wildlands Grassroots Network Team held a lobby week in Washington, DC with volunteers from some of our most important states and districts. Throughout this campaign, we heard directly from Congressional staff about the power of hearing from constituent voices.
The Senate must act within 60 session days to pass a CRA resolution with a simple majority vote. Similar to Sen. Lee's and Rep. Maloy's public land sell-off proposals last year, this fast-track attempt failed to gain traction in Congress before the deadline of June 11. This outcome was only possible because a broad coalition of Tribes, local business owners, scientists, faith leaders, recreation and conservation organizations, and individuals across the country spoke up. THANK YOU.
While this does not eliminate all of the potential threats to Grand Staircase-Escalante and our national monuments from the Trump Administration and Congress, it does send a powerful message that we the people will continue to fight back when our public lands are attacked.
You can continue to defend the national monuments and other public lands we love by taking action at sc.org/LandsAction.