Published May 16, 2026 04:46AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In the remote canyons of Utah\u2019s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a battle over public land protections is quietly unfolding.<\/p>\n
More than 150 researchers and scientific institutions have called on lawmakers<\/a> to reject legislation that would strip Grand Staircase-Escalante of federal protections granted in 2025. Such a move, they warn, could set a dangerous precedent for rolling back protections on public lands nationwide.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t about one monument\u2014it\u2019s a precedent. If Congress can undo Grand Staircase, legal experts warn any monument could be next,\u201d Chris Hill, CEO of the nonprofit advocacy group Conservation Lands Foundation<\/a>, told Outside<\/em>.<\/p>\n Established as a national monument in 1996, Grand Staircase-Escalante is renowned for its slot canyons, red rock monoliths, sandstone arches, and painted desert. It\u2019s the largest national monument in the contiguous United States, encompassing nearly 4,000 square miles.<\/p>\n The coalition of scientists also says the Grand Staircase is one of the most important living laboratories in North America.<\/p>\n \u201cIts relatively undisturbed landscape preserves an unparalleled record of Earth\u2019s history, spanning hundreds of millions of years,\u201d they wrote in their May letter. \u201cIt is the size of this landscape that allows researchers to gain insight into the migration patterns of wildlife, processes that engender and sustain biodiversity, and valuation of ecosystem services that support human and non-human life.\u201d<\/p>\n But lawmakers are currently trying to limit some federal protections in the area. Congress is using a legislative fast-track loophole known as the Congressional Review Act<\/a> (CRA) to overturn a management plan established for Grand Staircase-Escalante in 2025. The 2025 plan includes guidance and rules for protecting archaeological sites, wildlife habitat areas, and recreational planning. If Congress passes the CRA resolutions, the plan becomes nullified, and protections could be rolled back, according to the scientific coalition.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the latest political attack on the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in the past decade. In 2017, the Trump administration reduced the overall protected area inside the monument by 50 percent. The Biden administration restored the monument to its original size in 2021.<\/p>\n Supporters of the move, such as Utah Senators Celeste Maloy and Mike Lee, say the current Grand Staircase-Escalante management plan is too restrictive<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis resolution uses Congress\u2019s constitutional responsibility to check executive overreach and returns management to a plan that actually listens to the people on the ground,\u201d Celeste said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cAnd to be clear: this land remains federal land. It remains protected. What changes is that the communities who live here get their voice back.\u201d<\/p>\n But critics warn that the rollback is an example of congressional overreach and a dangerous first step toward opening national monuments to industrial uses, such as mining and logging. Such a precedent could jeopardize access, camping, and dark sky protections across public lands<\/p>\n \u201cNational monuments, national parks, and other beloved public lands all across the country, such as Carrizo Plain in California, are at risk,\u201d Grant Stevens of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance<\/a> told Outside<\/em>. The CRA has so far been used to undo an additional six resource management plans, according to Stevens. These include areas in Wyoming, Alaska, and Montana.<\/p>\n