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On June 24, an Oregon-based environmental group filed a lawsuit that could have broader ramifications for public land conservation across the country. Cascadia Wildlands, which bills itself as \u201cdefending Cascadia\u2019s wild ecosystems in the forest, in the courts, and in the streets,\u201d is challenging a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) timber sale in Western Oregon. But what\u2019s particularly noteworthy is how the organization is doing so.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Specifically, Cascadia is arguing that the Aloha Trout Forest Management Project violated the Administrative Procedure Act because it was never reviewed under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). This rationale is part of a broader debate over the CRA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
According to John Ruple, professor of law at the University of Utah, the CRA was passed in 1996 by Congress to create \u201ca faster way to rein in federal agencies that were perceived to be coloring outside of the line.\u201d While Congress already had that power, the CRA essentially created a fast-track to do so by giving lawmakers a 60-day window to introduce a resolution of disapproval for \u201crules\u201d that agencies issued. They could then forego many of the normal requirements for enacting laws and repeal regulations quickly and circumvent the Senate filibuster when doing so.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Soon after the legislation was enacted, Congress asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) if federal land management plans counted as \u201crules\u201d under the CRA. The GAO said they were, but, according to Ruple, \u201cCongress and federal agencies essentially shrugged and acted as if it wasn\u2019t the kind of technical, legalistic interpretation that anybody intended.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
For decades, land use plans weren\u2019t reviewed under the CRA\u2014until recently, when congressional Republicans began using the rule. In 2025, legislators overturned three BLM plans, targeting the Miles City Field Office in eastern Montana, the Alaska Office\u2019s Central Yukon district, and the entirety of the North Dakota Field Office. Republican lawmakers did so in the interest of increasing natural resource extraction in those areas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The CRA explicitly requires a rule to be submitted and reviewed \u201cbefore [it] can take effect.\u201d For those BLM plans, that was never done, which Congress used to justify its actions. They made a similar move with a mining prohibition in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Cascadia Wildlands\u2019s legal representation, Susan Jane Brown of Silvix Resources, says that this action has opened the door for litigation. Basically, the lawsuit argues that because the management plan guiding the contested timber sale was never submitted for congressional review, it violates the Administrative Procedure Act\u2014legislation that governs how federal agencies propose and issue regulations. \u201cThis [lawsuit] is the inevitable conclusion to the misuse of a federal law,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI just don’t think that anyone really ever intended for the CRA to be used in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Cascadia Wildlands\u2019s lawsuit appears to be the first to invoke the CRA to challenge a sale or regulation issued under a resource management plan. The outcome of the case could have serious implications well beyond Oregon. If the judiciary rules in favor of Cascadia, it would make any regulation issued in a resource management plan issued since 1996 vulnerable to litigation. This wouldn\u2019t necessarily be a good thing for environmentalists; industry groups could also use this to go after environmental protections. \u201cI would fully expect a flood of lawsuits challenging resource and land management plans,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re talking about here is blowing up the rules,\u201d Ruple added. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone is better off if these management plans are torn up.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Another potential outcome of the case would be that it spurs Congress to pass legislation to explicitly exclude land management plans from the purview of the CRA. This would provide stability for land management agencies as well as folks with interests in environmental regulations or resource extraction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIt is an opportunity for Congress to right some wrongs,\u201d Brown said. \u201cCongress has used the CRA as a trump card to score political points. This kind of lawsuit is what happens when Congress doesn’t really think hard and doesn’t listen to legal advice about the consequences of scoring political points.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
However, another potential outcome, according to Ruple, could be that Congress would be required to go back and review hundreds of management plans that were issued in the last 30 years. \u201cThey would be literally buried in paper,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would be a massive burden.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
This kind of extreme outcome would undermine and destabilize public lands across the country. According to Brown, the risk is worth it for her client, which she says does not have \u201ca lot to lose\u201d in their specific situation of challenging a 2016 management plan that reduced protections of old growth forests compared to a preexisting 1994 forest plan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The lawsuit was filed in the District Court of Oregon. Depending on the outcome, the case could be appealed to higher federal courts. The representation for the Department of the Interior could also seek to dismiss the case on legal grounds or pursue a settlement. MeatEater will continue to track this case and its implications for public land users.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re serious about this and looking forward to engage the courts with the issues here,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI\u2019ve been practicing law for more than 25 years now, and these kinds of cases don\u2019t come along very often. My client and I are really excited to press our case and see where it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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