Using an unprecedented move that’s been described as “nuclear,” the Senate passed three bills last week overturning established land-use plans in Montana, North Dakota and Alaska under the Congressional Review Act.

It is the first time that the CRA — a law designed to allow Congress to rescind executive agency actions — has ever been applied to a land management plan since it was signed in 1996.

The bills passed the House of Representatives last month and are now bound for President Donald Trump’s desk.

While the state delegations celebrate the end of Biden-era restrictions on the debated parcels of federal land, there are many — including both energy advocates and conservationists — who fear that those unprecedented bills will upend land management across the entire country.

That includes long time oil and gas advocates, who urge Congress to use caution.

“I think that it’s necessary to tread lightly,” said Kathleen Sgamma, principal for Multiple-Use Advocacy and a former BLM director candidate in the Trump administration.

“There are some additional legal risks that can arise from the CRA — it’s uncharted ground — and if not used wisely, there could be some legal risks introduced and some bad legal precedent."

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