bike seeds: This little-known law could be a BIG problem for public lands

Momoko, there's a little-known law that Congress is using in an unprecedented way to unravel protections for some of our most treasured public lands.

It's called the Congressional Review Act, and it allows Congress to review and potentially overturn rules being finalized by federal agencies with a simple majority vote. Its original intent was to give Congress a tool to review last-minute rules being enacted by outgoing administrations—but for the first time in history, anti-conservation members of Congress are using it to axe protections for national monuments, wilderness areas and even wildlife refuges. Learn more about how this obscure tool is being weaponized to break America's public lands >>

The CRA is highly controversial—and the impact on our public lands could be dangerous, sweeping and permanent.

Here's how Congress' abuse of the CRA could impact three important landscapes:

Person in between canyons in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah is home to towering red and white cliffs, ancient petroglyphs and dinosaur fossils that give us an amazing window into our past. But now, Utah's Senator Mike Lee and Representative Celeste Maloy are attempting to use the CRA to overturn its management plan and reopen the door to drilling and mining that would permanently scar this incredible landscape and limit our freedom to experience its natural treasures.

Two people in canoe on water in Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota is one of our nation's largest and most visited wilderness areas. It contains more than a thousand lakes and streams, making it a one-of-a-kind spot for canoeing and recreation. It's also part of the ancestral and modern homeland of the Anishinaabe people, and a key refuge for wildlife including lynx, otters, black bears and sturgeon. But lawmakers are weaponizing the CRA to strip vital protections from its headwaters—paving the way for destructive mining that would devastate wildlife, poison pristine waters and prevent the public from exploring this beloved place.

Two people hugging next to large orange tent looking at rainbow in the Alaska Arctic Refuge, AK.

America's Arctic is one of the last great wild places on Earth, a vast and remote region that sustains Indigenous communities and is home to abundant wildlife. But Congress has used the CRA to overturn hard-fought protections for both the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Western Arctic. Plans that took years of science, public comments and collaboration with Alaska Native communities have been tossed aside by politicians in Washington D.C.—all to benefit oil and gas companies.

Learn more about how the CRA is being used to throw public lands into chaos >>

These landscapes belong to all of us. They are sources of clean water, wildlife habitat, cultural history and renewal—and we must protect them today so that future generations may inherit their wonders.

This destructive use of the CRA is unprecedented—and we are only able to fight back because of the advocacy and support of public lands champions like you. Thank you for standing with us and staying engaged at this critical moment.

With gratitude,

Margot Krieger headshot.

Margot Krieger signature.

Margot Krieger
Director of Membership
The Wilderness Society

P.S., If you'd like to help us continue defending cherished places like Grand Staircase-Escalante, the Boundary Waters and America's Arctic from unprecedented attacks like these, please make a tax-deductible gift to support The Wilderness Society. Your support ensures we're ready to fight back—in Congress, in the courts, and on the ground—when new threats to public lands emerge.