Arizona Trail Association and Wild Arizona join forces to ask Senator Martha McSally to support the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act
groups launch statewide ads, billboards, and postcard campaign calling for action.
Flagstaff, Arizona – Two leading Arizona outdoor organizations have come together to urge Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) to protect Grand Canyon by co-sponsoring the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act (S.3127). The bill, which already passed the House in a bi-partisan manner, was introduced in the U.S. Senate late last year by Arizona’s senior Senator, Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).
The Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act would protect over 1 million acres surrounding Grand Canyon National Park from new uranium mining by making permanent an existing but temporary 20-year moratorium on mining for the Canyon’s north and south rims.
Grand Canyon and the Arizona Trail are pillars of Arizona’s economy, with outdoor recreation generating $21 billion in consumer spending annually, supporting over 200,000 jobs, and sustaining rural communities. The Canyon’s watershed and the Colorado River it feeds provides life-giving water for wildlife, recreationists, and more than 40 million people in the West.
“While mining has played an important role in Arizona’s past, the serious long-term risks to public health, water resources, Indigenous people, and recreational activities on public land far outweigh the prospect of short-term profit from uranium production,” said Matthew Nelson, Executive Director of the Arizona Trail Association. “If any of the already more than 800 uranium mining claims on the Kaibab National Forest south of Grand Canyon were to be developed, nearly 40 miles of the Arizona National Scenic Trail would likely be impacted.”
According to Kelly Burke, Executive Director of Wild Arizona, “It’s imperative that Arizonans secure this historic opportunity to permanently protect Grand Canyon from the damage of new uranium mining in order to guarantee a healthier future for all Arizona’s diverse inhabitants, human and wild. We urge Senator McSally to join with the majority of the Arizona Congressional Delegation in standing up for this national treasure by co-sponsoring S.3127.”
Senator McSally has not taken a position on the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, although both Senators recently stood together to protect public lands and parks by voting to support the Great American Outdoors Act, which was signed into law earlier this month.
Wild Arizona’s ads and billboards, running across the state, feature stunning photography by Flagstaff-based and award-winning photographer David Edwards. The ads and billboards will run during the month of August and the postcard campaign will run through September.
Arizona residents can participate in the campaign by sending postcards to both Senators online through KeepItGrand.net.
Images of the billboards and digital ads, which call on Arizonans to sign a petition urging protections for the Canyon, can be viewed at WildArizona.org.
It is down right stupid and scary to allow any mining claims near the south or north rim of the Grand Canyon. water from springs can seep down and out and affect millions or people and animals and flora in the region. Some things should be protected….and the Canyon is one of them!!