Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** GAO says Congress can overturn Utah management plan
------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, January 23, 2026
Metate Arch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument near Escalante, Utah. John Fowler, Wikimedia Commons ([link removed])
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has concluded ([link removed]) that lawmakers can use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn a Biden-era management plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah—a landscape known for ([link removed]) its geological, recreational, and cultural significance.
The GAO specifically said ([link removed]) in the report that because the Bureau of Land Management never submitted the January 2025 management plan to Congress, it is subject to a CRA vote. The CRA allows lawmakers to overturn recently finalized rules with simple majorities in Congress.
The report ([link removed]) , which was requested by U.S. Representative Celeste Maloy of Utah, paves the way for Congress to chip away at protections for the national monument, including by weakening natural resource protections that were outlined ([link removed]) in the management plan.
It is unclear whether Maloy or Utah Senator Mike Lee will file a CRA resolution to revoke the management plan, but the report is already raising red flags ([link removed]) among Utah voters, 74 percent ([link removed]) of whom support keeping Grand Staircase-Escalante protected as a national monument.
“Any attempt to leverage this obscure federal law against the monument is an effort to thwart the will of millions of Americans who have repeatedly stood up in support of Grand Staircase-Escalante, its wild red rock landscape, and its irreplaceable cultural and fossil resources,” said ([link removed]) Steve Bloch, legal director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
** Quick hits
------------------------------------------------------------
House public lands caucus fails test with Boundary Waters vote
Public Domain ([link removed]) | Field & Stream ([link removed]) | Duluth News Tribune ([link removed]) [opinion]
Tribes and environmental groups sound alarm about fate of one of Utah’s national monuments
Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
Park Service removes slavery exhibit at Independence Park in Philadelphia
Washington Post ([link removed] Service removes slavery exhibit at Independence Park in Philadelphiahttps://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2026/01/22/slavery-exhibit-removed/) | New York Times ([link removed]) | NBC News ([link removed]) | CBS News ([link removed]) | Reuters ([link removed]) | Newsweek ([link removed])
New Mexico sues Texas oil companies for walking away from their leaking wells
ProPublica ([link removed])
Lawmakers push probe into top Interior official’s Nevada lithium ties
2 News Nevada ([link removed]) | KOLO ([link removed]) | News 4 ([link removed])
Trump's EPA has put a value on human life: Zero dollars
New York Times ([link removed])
Developers want to build a $10 billion data center next to this iconic NPS site
Outside ([link removed])
BLM looks to add 4,000 acres to conservation area in Colorado
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
------------------------------------------------------------
” No matter the complexity of today’s debates, our guiding principle is clear: These places must be protected and honored as part of our shared heritage and as part of the life-giving system of Mother Earth.”
—Cassidy K. Morgan, programs and projects specialist with the Navajo Nation Heritage and Historic Preservation Department, Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** Picture This
------------------------------------------------------------
@goldengatecanyoncpw ([link removed])
Walking on a pond of bubbles 🫧
Ice conditions throughout the park are pretty solid and will only get better with the cold snap this weekend. 🥶
Time to bundle up and grab your ice fishing or skating gear and get outside!
Kriley Pond: 5+ inches
Slough Pond: 9+ inches
Ranch Ponds: 8+ inches
📸: CPW/ Ranger Brian
============================================================
** Website ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** TikTok ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
Copyright © 2026 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.
Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
