The proposal builds on Coconino County’s long established and ongoing commitment to permanently protect the region from mining and uranium development.
COCONINO COUNTY — On April 11, 2023, Coconino County Chair Patrice Horstman and District 5 Supervisor Lena Fowler, joined eleven tribal leaders of the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition, alongside Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), to launch an effort to call on President Joe Biden to use his authorities under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument.
The Monument designation would protect 1,102,501 acres adjacent to the Grand Canyon by making the current 20-year moratorium on mining permanent across the vast landscape of the Grand Canyon region. This moratorium would protect the water and land, while allowing the area to continue to be used for existing activities like ranching, logging, hunting, and outdoor recreation, so that generations of residents and visitors can continue to enjoy the tremendous natural resources and beauty of the region for decades to come. The monument designation would also honor the deep cultural and spiritual ties of the many tribal nations that inhabit the region.
“Protecting the pristine Grand Canyon landscape has been a longstanding position of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors since adopting resolution 2008-09 to oppose uranium mining near the Grand Canyon within Coconino County,” said Fowler. “This designation won’t have an effect on recreation, hunting, or visitation, but it will safeguard our natural resources, our clean drinking water, our wildlife habitats, and our region’s very fragile natural watersheds.”
The Coconino County Board of Supervisors have long recognized the critical importance of protecting the land and water from the risks of contamination created by uranium mining, which has already left a toxic legacy on portions of tribal lands in the area, and they have worked persistently to engage our federal representatives in putting permanent protections in place. The county applauds the efforts of Congressman Grijalva and Senator Sinema to preserve this special region.
The Antiquities Act of 1906 was the first U.S. law to provide general legal protection of cultural and natural resources of historic or scientific interest on Federal lands and set an important precedent by asserting a broad public interest in the preservation of these resources. Some of the country’s original National Parks, including Grand Canyon, were originally designated as National Monuments by President Theodore Roosevelt under the Act.
“Protecting the greater Grand Canyon area and keeping it forever free of mining would recognize the historic, cultural, and religious importance of this special place and protect the beauty and water sources for many tribal members and the western communities that rely on Colorado River water,” added Patrice Horstman, Chair of the Board and Supervisor for District 1. “It would allow Arizona, the United States, and the whole world the ability to keep our Grand Canyon even grander for now and for all future generations.”
The Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition consists of leadership representatives of the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Paiute Tribe, Las Vegas Band of Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Pueblo of Zuni, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes.