By Ashley Ray | Cronkite News
Dozens of local residents, tribal leaders and state officials gathered in Flagstaff on Tuesday to express support for a proposed national monument around the Grand Canyon, saying the designation could protect natural and cultural resources.
The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the monument, held their first meeting to hear input and gather public opinion on the proposal.
“I have one mouth and two ears.
The proposal calls on President Joe Biden to designate more than 1.1 million acres as a national monument under the Antiquities Act of 1906, which allows the president to reserve land to protect cultural and natural resources.
was suggested Baji Nuwabjo Ita Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument The plan includes three areas of federal public land adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park that would prevent further uranium mining in protected areas.
Several tribes of the Grand Canyon Tribes have ancestral ties to the canyon and honor it as a natural landmark and a sacred place of cultural ties. This coalition is made up of 12 tribes and is leading the proposal for a new monument.
Tribal members have expressed concern over plants, wildlife and water affected by uranium mining.
“We can’t keep hurting Mother Earth,” Havasupai vice chairman Edmund Tiluci said. “The threat of contaminating our water is real and still present. The pure water flowing through Havasupai village is under constant attack from uranium mining.”
Tirusi said it was her duty to her children and future generations to protect the land. He also said that the Colorado River’s water is “once polluted by uranium mining, and never recovered.”
According to Keep-It-Ground, Arizona, there are 598 concessions on the planned site for the monument, and one working uranium mine in a meadow at the foot of Mount Red Butte, about 16 miles from the rim of the Grand Canyon. petition to support the memorial.
Nearly 200 people voiced their support at Tuesday’s rally. Many wore matching blue t-shirts that read ‘Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument’. Others stood outside holding placards calling for land protection.
But critics opposed to creating a national monument said uranium mining would help the economy.
“This move represents a recent massive land grab by the Biden administration and would be devastating to Mojave County,” said Penny Pugh, a representative for Rep. Paul Gossar, Republican Bullhead City. “This proposal has never been coordinated with Mojave County officials and the designation permanently changes communities in the area.”
The crowd booed at the statement.
In April, Mojave County Superintendent Buster Johnson said: cronkite news Uranium mining can be worth billions of dollars to local economies and has historically kept communities alive.
“Mining pays well. There were some communities where the men had to leave when we had a moratorium,” Johnson said. “Because the men weren’t around, the family situation worsened, schools closed, jobs disappeared, and communities collapsed.”
Also on Tuesday, Arizona Senators Mark Kelly, Kirsten Cinema and Rep. Raul Grijalva announced the implementation of the Baj Nwabjo Itaha Kukuveni Grand Canyon National Monument Act. According to a news release, the law outlines the details and “directs the details of the formation and management” of the monument. The bill was not available at the time of issuance.
Biden recently created two national monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906. Avi Kwa Ame National Monument is located in Southern Nevada. Kastner Mountains National Monument is located north of El Paso, Texas.
In its proposal, the Grand Canyon Tribes Association outlined that visitors can continue to hike, bike, camp, and enjoy the scenery within the monument.
Ben Stewart, who attended the meeting on behalf of Cinema, told the crowd that the next step would be to establish state funding for the monument.
