KINGMAN — Arizona’s three legislative commissions will hold joint hearings Monday in Kingman to discuss the U.S. Department of the Interior’s proposed Burj Nwabjo Ita Kukuveni Grand Canyon National Monument.
The hearing will include members of the Arizona Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Energy and Water, the House Committee on Natural Resources, Energy and Water, and the House Committee on Land, Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The meeting will be at 5:00 pm at Kingman’s 700W. It is scheduled for the Mojave County Courthouse on Beale Street and will be open to the public.
Public testimony is placed on a brief agenda after discussion by committee members.
The national monument spans 1.1 million acres of public land in eastern Mojave and western Coconino counties and was proposed by the Department of the Interior in response to requests from the Havasupai, Hopi and others for a cultural and cultural reserve. is. Natural resources throughout the Grand Canyon Basin.
The proposal is supported by the Colorado River, Havasupai, Hopi Tribes, Hualapai, Kaibab Band of Paiute, Las Vegas Paiute, Moapa Band of Paiute in Southern Nevada, Paiute Indian Tribes of Utah, and the Grand Canyon Tribal Confederation, including representatives from San Juan. . Southern Paiute, Yavapai Apache, and Zuni pueblos.
Mojave County Superintendent Buster Johnson previously voiced his opposition to the proposed monument designation.
“Arizona has 18 monuments, more than any other state,” Johnson said. “Arizona is over 50% federal land and Mojave County is over 90%. We cannot afford to lose any more land economically.”
In 2012, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that more than one million uranium-rich acres on the Arizona Strip should be removed, citing concerns about uranium leaching and other potential damage to the Colorado River system that flows through the Grand Canyon. The land was withdrawn from federal mineral entry. Areas of natural and cultural importance. Johnson said if the proposed memorial is passed, the land included in the 20-year moratorium in 2012 will be permanently banned from uranium mining.
“This will have a devastating effect on Mojave County,” Johnson said. “This proposal has never been coordinated with Mojave County officials and the designation permanently changes the area.”
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service held a public meeting in Flagstaff last month for public comment.
Most, but not all, of the approximately 100 people who attended the meeting supported the creation of a national monument. The loudest speaker was U.S. Congressman Paul Gossar (R-Bullhead City).
“This proposal circumvents the powers of Congress and threatens Americans’ access to and use of federal lands,” Gossar said in a statement. “Furthermore, this proposal was never coordinated with Mojave County officials whose designation would permanently alter the community. It will be detrimental to hardworking rural Americans in Mojave County.”
