Oppose Congressional Review Act Rollbacks of Public Land Management Plans

Across the nation, we rely on predictable, science-based land management plans to guide access for hunters and anglers, habitat restoration projects, and resource use on our public lands. These plans are developed through years of public input, environmental review, and local collaboration--and they form the foundation for how more than 160 million acres of public lands are managed for multiple uses, from grazing and energy development to hunting, fishing, and habitat conservation.

But Congress has now taken an unprecedented step. Using the Congressional Review Act (CRA), both chambers have passed a resolution overturning the Bureau of Land Management's Miles City Resource Management Plan in Montana--the first time the CRA has ever been used to nullify a land use or resource management plan. Similar resolutions targeting BLM plans in North Dakota and Alaska remain under consideration.

If signed into law, this unprecedented move would bar agencies from issuing similar plans in the future, throw decades of science-based planning into chaos, and jeopardize hunting access and habitat protections across the country.

An Unprecedented Risk:
Never before has Congress used the CRA to target a land management plan. Doing so would set a dangerous precedent--casting doubt on nearly every BLM plan adopted since 1996 and undermining the public process that ensures balance between access, development, and habitat.

Confusion for Managing Multiple Use:
If these rollbacks stand, grazing, energy development, habitat restoration, and even hunting and fishing access could be thrown into legal limbo, reverting to outdated plans and conflicting management protocols.

Blocked Improvements:
Under the CRA, agencies would be prohibited from issuing any "substantially similar" plan in the future--even if changes are needed to expand access, restore habitat, or respond to shifting conditions on the ground.

Alaska Spotlight:
The Central Yukon Resource Management Plan (CYRMP) safeguards habitat and access while supporting hunting, fishing, trapping, recreation, and responsible development. This plan in particular has built-in special area management for iconic species like Dall's sheep, caribou, and moose, showcasing and conserving Alaska's most iconic species. Built through years of public input and environmental review, it reflects the voices of Alaskans who depend on these wild lands. Similarly, overturning the 2022 Integrated Activity Plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) would erase years of public input--over 228,000 comments--and compromise both habitat and hunting opportunity in the Western Arctic.

Take Action. Tell your elected officials to support public processes for management plan amendments and not to use the CRA to roll them back. Our wild public lands and waters deserve long-term, science-based management that involves balance and compromise, not confusion and outdated science.