Lummis, Barrasso and Hageman move to nix Biden-era Buffalo land plan

Wyoming’s delegation is taking a direct run at a Biden-era Bureau of Land Management blueprint that curbed future coal leasing in the Powder River Basin. On Wednesday, Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso, along with Rep. Harriet Hageman, filed a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the Buffalo Resource Management Plan Amendment, arguing it’s a backdoor ban on new coal and a hit to the state’s economy.

The CRA is Congress’s fast-track tool for scrapping federal rules. If it clears both chambers and is signed into law, it would wipe out the Buffalo amendment’s “no leasing” approach, snap back to the prior plan and block the BLM from issuing anything “substantially similar” down the road. Lawmakers have a 60-legislative-day window to act.

Lummis called the RMPA part of an “unrelenting war” on Wyoming coal, saying the fuel underpins thousands of jobs, local revenue and affordable power. Barrasso said the plan “attempted to shut down all future coal leasing” in the basin and would have cost communities millions. Hageman labeled it an illegal “mineral withdrawal disguised as a management plan,” warning it would undercut reliable energy at a time of rising demand.

The fight isn’t just local. With Republicans running both chambers, the CRA has become the weapon of choice against several Biden-era land plans across the West. This week the Senate voted along party lines to toss out RMPs in Montana and North Dakota that also restricted coal, sending those measures to President Trump. Another vote targeting an Alaska plan is expected next. Democrats and environmental groups counter that using the CRA on RMPs bulldozes years of public input and could unleash legal chaos across BLM-managed lands.

Back home, Gov. Mark Gordon cheered the move, saying it keeps Wyoming’s coal industry in the mix while the Trump administration reviews a new amendment. Campbell County leaders and the National Mining Association also lined up in support, arguing that rolling back the Buffalo plan is a necessary step to protect baseload power and domestic supply chains.

Bottom line: Wyoming’s delegation wants the Buffalo RMPA off the books and the BLM barred from trying anything like it again. Whether Congress agrees — and how courts view this broader CRA strategy — will decide if the Powder River Basin stays open for new coal leasing or not.

With input from Sheridan Media, Cowboy State Daily, Senator John Barrasso.