FLAGSTAFF, Arizona — A majority of about 200 people who attended a public rally in Flagstaff on Tuesday expressed support for protecting the vast tracts of land near the Grand Canyon from mining and outside developers.

The conference was sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior and was held in response to a request from the tribal leaders to the president. Biden plans to use the Antiquities Act to build the Baji Nwabjo Ita Kukuveni Grand Canyon National Monument.

This will establish a conservation standard for 1.1 million acres north and south of Grand Canyon National Park. It will also designate 12 indigenous tribes associated with the canyons to help oversee protected lands.

“Everyone in this room has a shared love for our public lands. Everyone in this room wants to take care of them,” said Land Management Director Tracy Stonemanning. said during the meeting. “The whole point is ‘how to do’. There are always, always, always many opinions on how to do that. ”

Broad support for national monuments

“As Guardians of the Grand Canyon, we have a duty to protect it,” said Havasupai Tribe Vice President Edmund Tiluci. Several tribal leaders discussed why the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River have spiritual, historical, and cultural significance to the people of their tribes.

Supporters of the move include Arizona Senators Kirsten Cinema and Mark Kelly, Rep. Raul Grijalva, and city councils representing Flagstaff and Payson.

Prescott ecologist Joe Trudeau drove to Flagstaff Monday morning to give a two-minute speech.

“I want our ancestral neighbors’ dreams to come true,” Trudeau said, adding that he also hoped federal officials would expand the reserve.

“I have visited 20 national forests on my job. North Kaibab has the majority of the best remaining primary forest in the southwest, the ponderosa pine forest. Prime Minister Trudeau said.

Gossar, ranchers against plan want details

Several ranchers on the Arizona-Utah border expressed concern that the move was an overreaction by the federal government. They fear losing control of federal land leased for grazing and losing water rights.

A representative for Rep. Paul Gossard said, “This move represents a massive recent land grab by the Biden administration and would be devastating to Mojave County.”

Chris Heaton, a sixth-generation rancher near Kanab, Utah, said he would lose his property when he saw a map of the proposal. 12News could not confirm that possibility.

Heaton also told the audience that as a rancher, he maintains several wells and 33 ponds that benefit wildlife.

“If we don’t manage our water resources, we will lose wildlife,” says Heaton. “Big game hunting, which has brought thousands of jobs and millions of dollars to the economy, will be gone. Ranchers keep it going.”

Representatives of outdoor sports companies and the executive director of the Arizona Game and Fish Service also attended the conference and expressed their support for the plan. They said the designation helps protect water bodies and land for fish and animals.

Controversy Over Uranium Mining

Uranium is a naturally occurring metal on earth. It supplies fuel to nuclear power plants, operates the reactors of warships and submarines, and is also involved in the production of medical, industrial and military products. Miners extract uranium from open pits and underground.

Contact with uranium is associated with cancer risk. The Environmental Protection Agency said the topic was particularly sensitive to the Navajo, whose soil, water and rocks were contaminated by uranium mining during the Cold War.

Proponents of uranium mining in northern Arizona argue that extraction methods used today do not pose the same risk of contamination as they did decades ago. There was also debate on Monday about whether a proposed national monument several miles from the Grand Canyon to the nearest point could do anything to prevent pollution in the Colorado River basin.

About two-thirds of the world’s uranium production comes from mines in Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia, according to the World Nuclear Association. The United States imports almost all of its uranium. Uranium mining advocates in the United States say it is a national security issue.

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