In the last two weeks, U.S. Representative John Cutris has overseen the advancement of three bills that are looking at asserting local control over public lands. He was first elected in 2017 and has sponsored 13 bills that relate to the use of public lands. The three current bills are the Protecting America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act, legislation requiring the Bureau of Land Management to withdraw a proposed rule that would allow portions of public lands to be leased for conservation purposes, and a bill that would allow SITLA, an agency responsible for generating public school revenue, to exchange land within the expanded Bears Ears National Monument for an equal amount of more profitable land currently controlled by the BLM. According to the Center for Effective Lawmaking, John Curtis is ranked the ninth most effective Republican congressman. In both the 117th and 118th Congress he is ranked the highest with bills related to public land management.
