FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 8, 2025
Contact:
Media@backcountryhunters.org
Congressional Review Act Sets Dangerous Precedent for Public Lands
Senate resolution overturns resource management plan, jeopardizing habitat, access, and conservation across Montana.
MISSOULA, Mont.—Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) today expressed deep concern following the Senate’s passage of H.J.Res. 104, a measure that overturns the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Miles City Resource Management Plan (RMP) in Montana, setting a dangerous precedent for millions of acres of public lands nationwide.
Advanced under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), the resolution marks the first time Congress has used this mechanism to nullify a land or resource management plan. The House passed the measure earlier this year and it now heads to President Trump’s desk.
If signed into law, the resolution would jeopardize science-based land management, undermine years of public input, and throw the stewardship of 1,745,040 acres of public lands in Montana into uncertainty. This use of the CRA also sets a dangerous precedent that threatens more than 160 million acres of public lands across the U.S.
“These plans are built through years of local engagement, environmental review, and compromise among hunters, ranchers, energy developers, and conservationists,” said Devin O’Dea, Western Policy & Conservation Manager for BHA. “Using the Congressional Review Act as a shortcut to scrap these plans opens a Pandora’s box for public lands, putting habitat restoration and hunting access at risk, something that could be avoided through the established RMP amendment process.”
Resource and land use plans are foundational to balancing multiple uses on public lands, guiding everything from grazing and recreation to energy development and habitat conservation. Under the CRA, once a rule or plan is repealed, agencies are prohibited from issuing a “substantially similar” plan in the future, even if revisions are needed to restore habitat, access critical minerals, or respond to wildfire fuel hazards.
Not Just Montana at Risk
Two pending CRA resolutions, H.J. Res. 106 and S.J.Res. 80, target Alaska’s Central Yukon Resource Management Plan and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Integrated Activity Plan. The Central Yukon Plan in particular has built-in special area management to conserve some of Alaska's most iconic species, like Dall's sheep, caribou, and moose. The Senate is also considering H.J.Res. 105, which would use the CRA to nullify the RMP for the BLM’s North Dakota Field Office.
BHA urges hunters, anglers, and all public land owners to contact their elected officials to oppose the misuse of the CRA to overturn resource management plans and instead support a local, stakeholder-driven process for resource management planning.
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers seeks to ensure North America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands, waters, and wildlife.
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