Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona                                                                                                                 (Mike Painter)

 
February 6, 2026

Dear CalUWild Friends & Supporters—

The Monthly Update took a break over the holidays and into the new year. But there was no getting away from the many Zoom meetings with our partners in various coalitions. You can read some of the results below. And I apologize for the short notice on ITEM 2; the upcoming votes discussed were only scheduled in the last few days. Just one or two quick phone calls is all you need to make.

 
CalUWild mourns the loss of lives in Minneapolis and abhors the actions taken against peaceful residents (citizens and non) around the country. We support the efforts of people to document these actions and to work to prevent similar ones in the future.

Unfortunately, we are seeing efforts to stifle peoples’ voices elsewhere, too. Voter suppression in various forms and threats to elections are common. The House of Representative recessed for over a month for no good reason, and the Speaker refused to seat a newly-elected member for weeks. Congress is using obscure laws and procedures to nullify policies that have broad public support. (See ITEM 2.) Land management agencies are drastically cutting back or even eliminating opportunities for public comment. We need to be aware of all of these things.

As the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

 
CalUWild also mourns the deaths of two of our long-time friends and colleagues. Wayne Hoskisson of Moab was a stalwart member of the Utah Wilderness crowd, heading up the R.S.2477 (ghost roads) inventories there, in addition to involvement in many other public land issues in the state. Rob Caughlan of San Mateo, CA was a member of our Advisory Board. He was the first president of the Surfrider Foundation and more. He wrote a book: A Surfer in the White House: and other salty yarns. It’s worth reading for anyone who wants to see the fun that can be had through a life of activism. We will miss them both but celebrate who they were and all the great things they accomplished.

 
Finally, a huge “Thank You” to everyone who contributed during our Annual Membership Appeal. Your generous support will help keep CalUWild going in the year ahead. And if you haven’t yet, contributions are welcome at any time. See the information at the end of this Update.

 
Best wishes,
Mike Painter, Coordinator

 
IN UTAH
1.   Red Rock Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)
2.   Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
          (And Other Areas) Under Threat
          (ACTION ITEM)

IN UTAH
1.   Red Rock Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-18) is the latest California cosponsor of America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, H.R.2467. If she’s your representative, please call her office to say thank you.   202-225-3072

CalUWild’s website contains a full listing of California Senate and House cosponsors and Washington, DC office phone numbers. As always, if your representative is not on the list, please call them with a request to cosponsor; if they are, please call to say “thank you.” There are currently 60 cosponsors in the House and 18 in the Senate. For a full list of cosponsors nationwide, click here.

 
2.   Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
          (And Other Areas) Under Threat
          (ACTION ITEM)

Background
In 1996, Congress passed the Congressional Review Act (CRA). It requires federal agencies to submit “rules” that they issue to Congress, allowing Congress to disapprove the particular rule if it chooses (and then signed by the president). If passed, the agency then is forbidden from issuing a rule that is “substantially the same” in the future.

The CRA was used infrequently at first, but in recent years its use has been increasing, and in ways many legal experts feel are inappropriate. Lately, it has been used to invalidate Resource Management Plans (RMPs), which are large-scale planning documents for BLM jurisdictions such as BLM Field Offices or national monuments. It is also being used against mineral withdrawals (which close off lands to exploration and actual mining for 20 years).

Agencies like the BLM and Forest Service have never considered the plans to be rules, and consequently never even thought to submit them to Congress for review. However, lately, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has stated, in non-binding opinions, that RMPs and mineral withdrawals are rules, subject to the CRA.

Needless to say, this opens up a Pandora’s Box, because it means that any RMP issued after 1996 would likely be invalid, since none were formally submitted to Congress. Furthermore, it means that all decision under those plans, such as oil & gas leases, grazing permits, and other decisions, are at risk of being invalidated.

Current situation
Several GOP representatives had introduced resolutions of disapproval, and three have passed so far and been signed.

The House recently voted to disapprove the Biden Administration’s mineral withdrawal in Superior National Forest, adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, the most heavily-visited Wilderness in the country. A Chilean company wants to mine for copper in the area, which poses the very serious threat of irreversibly polluting the Boundary Waters.

(Unfortunately, the “bipartisan” Public Lands Caucus voted along strict party lines, with Rep. Ryan Zinke “whipping” the GOP votes in favor of the CRA resolution. It failed a major test there.)

The GAO has released an opinion, requested by Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT), that the Resource Management Plan for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) qualifies as a rule. So it’s most likely only a matter of time before the Utah delegation introduces resolutions of disapproval in both the House and Senate.

Action
We’re expecting votes on both issues to take place the week of February 9, so please call Monday or Tuesday.

Please ask Sens. Padilla and Schiff to vote against any CRA resolution that might come up for either the Boundary Waters Mineral Withdrawal (H.J.Res.140) or the Grand Staircase-Escalante RMP.

Please call your House Representative warning them that a CRA resolution might be introduced for GSENM and asking them to vote against one should it come up. The following representatives in particular could use messages from their constituents:

 
IN GENERAL
3.   REMINDER: Oppose the Nomination
          Of Steve Pearce as BLM Director
          (ACTION ITEM)

Hearings are coming up later in the month in the Senate Energy & National Resources Committee on the nomination of Steve Pearce as Director of the BLM, and opposition has continued to grow across the country, even more than we wrote about in our November Update. He’s so bad that even the off-roaders are publicly opposed to his nomination: Trump’s Pick to Lead the BLM Will Be a Death Sentence to Your Public Land Off-Road. Sen. Alex Padilla (D) sits on the committee, and if you haven’t called his office yet to oppose Mr. Pearce’s nomination, please do so soon:   202-224-3553

Please also call Sen. Adam Schiff’s office to oppose the nomination as well, in the event the committee forwards the nomination to the full Senate for confirmation:   202-224-3841

 
4.   Roadless Area Conservation Act
          Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

Three more California representatives signed on as cosponsors to the Roadless Area Conservation Act, H.R.3930, which would permanently protect National Forest Roadless Areas. This bill is another of CalUWild’s legislative priorities. Please call if one of them is your representative:

The controversy over the Roadless Rule has made its way to the press: Four former chiefs of the Forest Service wrote an op-ed in The Hill: Democrat or Republican, Americans want their National Forests kept intact, and an op-ed was published in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle arguing against one of the most common excuses for why more roads are needed: As a retired firefighter, here’s why we don’t fight fire with roads.

 
IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
5.   Links to Articles and Other Items of Interest

If a link is broken or otherwise inaccessible, please send me an email, and I’ll fix it or send you a PDF copy. Gift links are temporary links from some websites, allowing non-subscribers to view articles for free for a limited time. As always, inclusion of an item in this section does not imply agreement with the viewpoint expressed.

Utah

California

Alaska

General

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