MEDIA ADVISORY: Utah Sierra Club, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance to Host Virtual Press Call Rejecting Attacks on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

SALT LAKE CITY - On Tuesday, March 17th, the Utah Sierra Club and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) will host a virtual press call with community members speaking out against Senator Mike Lee and Rep. Celeste Maloy's plan to overturn the Monument Management Plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

SPEAKERS:

• Franque Bains, Chapter Director of the Utah Sierra Club
• Steve Bloch, Legal Director, SUWA
• Nathan "Nate" Waggoner, owner, Escalante Outfitters, and board chair, Grand Staircase Regional Guide Association
• Autumn Gillard, Coordinator, Grand Staircase Escalante Intertribal Coalition
• Debbie Young, Concerned Southern Utah Resident

WHEN: Tuesday, March 17 at 9:30AM MDT

REGISTRATION LINK: https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=701Po00001bXrXeIAK

BACKGROUND:

Grand Staircase-Escalante was established as a national monument in 1996 to protect unparalleled geological and ecological resources in southern Utah. Since its designation, the monument has attracted millions of visitors and contributed more than 3,000 new jobs to a growing local economy. The monument is also culturally significant to many of the Tribes in the region, and last year, six Tribes formed the Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalitionto advocate for Tribal voices and perspectives to be heard and included in the management of the monument. But the ecological, economic, and cultural benefits of the monument are now under attack by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Representative Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02), who are attempting to override years of public input and Tribal consultation to undo protections for the public lands we all rely on.

On March 4, the elected officials behind 2025's failed public lands sell-off attempts - Senator Mike Lee (R-UT)and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02)- introduced a joint resolution to undo the Grand Staircase-Escalante National MonumentManagement Plan using the Congressional Review Act (CRA). If both chambers of Congress pass the measure by simple majority votes, the plan - which sets expectations for how these remarkable public lands will be managed for recreation, camping and outdoor access, collaboration with Tribal Nations, dark night skies, grazing, and other uses - will be undone and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be barred from issuing another plan that is "substantially the same" in the future. This assault on a national monument marks a significant escalation in Congress' use of the CRA and - if successful - would lead to chaos on the ground.

Comments from our hosts:

In a new op-ed for Deseret News, Utah Sierra Club Chapter Director Franque Bains spoke about the importance of protecting Grand Staircase-Escalante's land use plan: "In its 29 years, this monument has been the reason that the local economy has grown, more so than in surrounding counties without national monuments… The best way to honor and protect the remarkable landscape we all love and also help local business is to keep intact this monument's plan."

"Senator Lee and Rep. Maloy's assault on the Grand Staircase-Escalante is a singular call to action for Americans from across the nation," said Steve Bloch, Legal Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "These wild public lands are quintessential southern Utah redrock country with stunning geology, irreplaceable cultural resources, unique fossils, and wide-open spaces. All of that is at risk if this effort succeeds and the monument management plan is undone. We intend to move heaven and earth to stop that from happening."

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.

About Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America's redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at https://www.suwa.org.