News Release June 27, 2024

Phoenix, AZ  – Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, National Parks Conservation Association, Wild Arizona, Chispa Arizona, and HaulNo!, as well as Havasupai Tribal members, delivered more than 17,000 petition signatures to Governor Katie Hobbs today urging her to use her authority to close the Pinyon Plain uranium mine that threatens the waters of Grand Canyon and the Havasupai Tribe. 

This comes after the groups, scientists, and many others sent a letter to the governor in January, outlining the threats posed by this mine and asking for her assistance with its closure.

“The Havasupai Tribe, other Tribal leaders, and those who care about protecting Grand Canyon and its waters have fought the Pinyon Plain uranium mine for decades, because it threatens the waters of Grand Canyon and the Havasupai,” said Sandy Bahr, director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. “Governor Hobbs can and should help shut down this mine as once the mine contaminates the groundwater, there is no way to clean it up. The best way to protect Grand Canyon and the people who depend on its waters is to move forward with closure of this mine.” 

The Pinyon Plain mine, which began extracting uranium ore on January 8th, is seven miles south of Grand Canyon National Park and inside the newly designated Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. Although President Biden’s national monument designation permanently bans new mining claims and development inside the monument, it exempts preexisting claims with valid existing rights like the Pinyon Plain uranium mine. 

“Neither industry nor regulators can guarantee that the Pinyon Plain uranium mine won’t irretrievably damage aquifers that feed Grand Canyon’s precious springs,” said Taylor McKinnon, Southwest director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “That’s not a risk worth taking. The Center stands with the Havasupai Tribe in requesting that Governor Hobbs close the mine now.” 

The petitions delivered to the governor ask her to, “Please do everything you can to help protect the waters of Grand Canyon, the new national monument, and these waters that are essential to the existence of the Havasupai people. This mine should be closed before it creates irreversible harm.”

“State Aquifer Protection Permits issued to Pinyon Plain mine relied in part on analyses employing scientific representations that were already shown to be inaccurate when the mine pierced a shallow aquifer,” said Kelly Burke, executive director of Wild Arizona. “With as much as 10 million gallons per year being pumped from the mine shaft, ore extraction and stockpiling well underway, and recent geohydrological science pointing to real cause for concern for the waters, wildlife, and the Havasupai people of Grand Canyon, it is clear Governor Hobbs needs to move now to close Pinyon Plain mine.”

 “Several lines of recent scientific evidence indicate a potential threat of uranium mining near the Grand Canyon to the quantity and quality of springs in the Canyon,” said David Kreamer, Professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and President of the International Association of Hydrogeologists.

The governor has not responded to the groups’ January letter asking for her help to help close the mine. They hope the petition signatures from thousands of Arizonans and people around the country who care about Grand Canyon will catalyze Governor Hobbs to action.

“Chispa Arizona strongly opposes the Pinyon Plain uranium mine’s operation in the recently protected Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument due to its significant environmental risks,” said Vania Guevara, advocacy and political director with Chispa Arizona. “Mine approvals have historically neglected Tribal voices, minimized environmental dangers, and overlooked the potential for contaminating waters that communities depend on. The Pinyon Plain mine can cause irreparable damage to the aquifers below it and we stand with our indigenous relatives from the Havasupai Tribe in urging Governor Hobbs to prioritize the health and safety of Arizona’s people and water by shutting down the mine.”

###

The post groups deliver more than 17,000 petition signatures to Governor Hobbs  appeared first on Wild Arizona.

For Immediate Release:  April 25, 2024 

Contact:
Perry Wheeler, Earthjustice, 202-792-6211, pwheeler@earthjustice.org
Caitlyn Burford, National Parks Conservation Association, 541-371-6452, cburford@npca.org 
Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, 801-300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org 
Michael Toll, Grand Canyon Trust, 303-309-2165, mtoll@grandcanyontrust.org 
Andrew Scibetta, NRDC, 202-289-2421, ascibetta@NRDC.org
Kelly Burke, Wild Arizona, 928-606-7870, kelly@wildarizona.org 
Cyndi Tuell, Western Watersheds Project, 520-272-2454, cyndi@westernwatersheds.org 
Chris Krupp, WildEarth Guardians, 206-417-6363, ckrupp@wildearthguardians.org
Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club, 602-999-5790, sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org 

Phoenix, AZ – Conservation groups filed a motion to intervene yesterday in defense of President Biden’s designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona. The Arizona legislature and others filed lawsuits in February attempting to overturn the monument designation and attacking the Antiquities Act as unlawful. The monument lies within the homelands of and holds great cultural significance to numerous Tribes, who led the effort to protect the monument.  

The Havasupai Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, and the Navajo Nation also moved to intervene on Wednesday. 

“This monument is a testament to the decades of tireless advocacy by numerous Tribes to secure federal protections for their ancestral lands and waters around the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, the Arizona legislature and other parties have sued to eviscerate the monument and to gut the Antiquities Act,” said Michael Toll, staff attorney for the Grand Canyon Trust. “The legislature relies on the same basic arguments that have been rejected by every court to consider them, and we’ll work for that same outcome in this case.”

President Biden lawfully designated Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in August 2023, answering longtime calls from Tribal leaders to permanently protect over 900,000 acres adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park. The monument safeguards sacred Indigenous cultural sites as well as remarkable archaeological and ecological features from uranium mining and other threats. 

Tribes including 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, Shivwits Band of Paiutes, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Pueblo of Zuni and the Colorado River Indian Tribes urged President Biden to designate a national monument to honor their deep cultural ties to the Grand Canyon.

Uranium mining around the Grand Canyon threatens to further deplete and permanently pollute the aquifers that feed the Grand Canyon’s springs, which provide water for both the Havasupai Tribe and a rich diversity of plants and animals. Previous mining in the Grand Canyon region has contaminated land and water and radiation has sickened people living nearby, including on the Navajo Nation, where hundreds of abandoned uranium mines still await cleanup. 

“Like the Grand Canyon itself, this breathtaking monument safeguards globally significant cultural values and biodiversity, and we’re determined to defend it,” said Taylor McKinnon, Southwest director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It enshrines decades of Tribal and community advocacy, and we’re confident that these lawsuits will be shown to be on the wrong side of both the law and history.” 

“The critical significance of this lawfully designated monument to the well-being and long-term resilience of Tribal communities, Grand Canyon’s waters and wildlife, the Colorado River, our Grand Canyon state, the nation and the world, cannot be overstated,” said Kelly Burke, executive director for Wild Arizona. “Apparently all this is lost on the Arizona legislature’s leadership, and is why we are committed to stand with Tribal nations in defense of this treasured living landscape against such self-serving attacks.” 

The region is also home to many sensitive and endangered species, including the humpback chub, California condor, desert bighorn sheep, Mexican spotted owl and Western yellow-billed cuckoo, as well as endemic plant and animal species like the Kaibab monkey grasshopper, the House Rock Valley chisel-toothed kangaroo rat, Grand Canyon ringlet butterfly and Tusayan rabbitbrush. Paleontological resources are also found throughout the area, with fossils documented in written scientific literature for nearly 150 years. 

“The state and special interest lawsuits against the monument’s designation show a blatant disregard for the cultural values and widespread importance of protecting this amazing place,” said Cyndi Tuell, Western Watersheds Project’s Arizona and New Mexico director. “Private commercial interests cannot outweigh the national significance of these lands, and in fact, the Biden Administration should have done more to ensure that land uses like livestock grazing do not continue to damage natural and cultural resources.”

The attack, led by the Arizona legislature, follows a similar lawsuit involving the Antiquities Act in Utah, in which Utah and others challenged President Biden’s restoration of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Both the Utah and Arizona lawsuits target monuments that were set aside to protect and honor Indigenous cultural sites, along with important archaeological and ecological features, and were filed despite strong Tribal support for the designations. The federal court in Utah dismissed the case last year, and it is now on appeal. 

“For more than a century, the Antiquities Act has preserved some of the most treasured and iconic landscapes in the country, including the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument,” said Sandy Bahr, director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. “This lawsuit from Arizona legislators is an attack on a monument promoted by and supported by at least 14 Tribal nations and is just the latest in a series of attacks by big industry and its enablers to undercut the Antiquities Act and sell off public lands to the highest bidder. Presidents from both sides of the aisle have used the act to protect our historical and cultural heritage, and we will keep working to defend these landscapes for future generations.”

In 1920, the Supreme Court upheld President Teddy Roosevelt’s use of the Antiquities Act to protect 800,000 acres in Arizona when he declared the Grand Canyon a national monument. Presidents since have on many occasions designated monuments of a million acres or more. Courts have consistently found that culturally and scientifically rich landscapes, even large ones, are eligible for protection under the Act. In their motion to intervene, the conservation groups signaled their opposition to Utah’s erroneous claim that a president can designate only small monuments centered on specific sites.

“These lawsuits by the Arizona legislature and others seeking to overturn President Biden’s declaration of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument represent yet another misguided attack on the Antiquities Act of 1906,” said Sara Husby, executive director for Great Old Broads for Wilderness. “Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni was lawfully created to honor Indigenous cultural sites—along with important archaeological and ecological features—and protect them from uranium mining and other threats. Great Old Broads for Wilderness is proud to work in support of the Tribal and Indigenous community in defense of both Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni and the Antiquities Act as a whole.” 

“This case is yet another attack on the Antiquities Act at the behest of extractive industries and anti-federal government groups. It’s disappointing that state officials keep trying to prevent the federal government from managing federal lands in a way that protects sacred Indigenous sites, one-of-a-kind ecosystems, and other cherished public resources,” said Tom Delehanty, senior associate attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “The Supreme Court has recognized for a hundred years that the Antiquities Act gives the president broad authority to protect important sites and landscapes. We’ll continue to fight these meritless lawsuits to ensure our most special places are protected for future generations.” 

“The leadership of the state legislature is defying the interests of Arizonans, who widely support the use of the Antiquities Act to protect the irreplaceable Native cultural sites and unique ecosystems of the greater Grand Canyon,” said Chris Krupp, public lands attorney with WildEarth Guardians. “The leaders of the Arizona House and Senate would rather carry water for the mining and grazing industries that fund their political campaigns than listen to the people of Arizona.” 

“Baaj Nwaavjo is a textbook example of what Congress intended to achieve through the Antiquities Act. Despite decades of extraction and unchecked mining pollution, there are over 3,000 known cultural and historical sites within the protected lands. The monument’s unique hydrological features also give scientists insights into the formation of the Grand Canyon,” said Jackie Iwata, staff attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Just as the Supreme Court affirmed the Grand Canyon’s designation as a monument a century ago, there is no question that the president can and should protect these resources from further spoliation today.”

“A decade in the making and with resounding Tribal and public support, this monument protects not just a landscape, but a legacy – a tapestry of red rock canyons, irreplaceable waterways, and cultural and historic sites sacred to many Tribal Nations,” said Sanober Mirza, Arizona program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). “The Antiquities Act has been a bedrock conservation law for over a century, protecting cultural and historic treasures and iconic landmarks like Grand Canyon National Park. With the courts repeatedly affirming its authority, we are proud to defend Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.”

“Without the Antiquities Act, our public lands would look starkly different, especially here in Arizona, where the landscape is layered with cultural, natural, and historic resources,” said Mike Quigley, Arizona state director with The Wilderness Society. “Protecting and preserving the ancestral lands of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument is widely supported: a recent poll showed 86% of Arizonans support presidents continuing to use their ability to protect existing public lands as national monuments.”

Earthjustice is representing the Center for Biological Diversity, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, Western Watersheds Project, WildEarth Guardians and Wild Arizona in the intervention. The Grand Canyon Trust and NRDC are co-counseling with Earthjustice and representing themselves. 

Media requests on the Tribes’ efforts can be directed to media@narf.org.

Photos are available here.  

The post conservation groups defend Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument, Antiquities Act appeared first on Wild Arizona.

Wild Arizona and Kahtoola stand with Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition in call to protect traditional homelands on the Canyon’s Rimlands

For Immediate Release, April 11, 2023

Contacts: Kelly Burke, (928) 606-7870, kelly@wildarizona.org
Danny Giovale, (928) 853-3351, danny@kahtoola.com

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.— In a historic event today, the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition announced a campaign calling on President Biden to establish the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument using his Executive authority under the Antiquities Act. Baaj Nwaavjo means “where tribes roam” to the Havasupai, and I’tah Kukveni means “our footprints” for the Hopi.

For more than a decade, tribal leaders have been fighting to protect the Grand Canyon region from uranium mining threats. The proposal for the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument would include 1,102,501 acres around and adjoining Grand Canyon National Park. These lands form an integral part of the Colorado River’s Grand Canyon watershed and are where traditional practices, cultural knowledge, and spiritual ceremonies have taken place for millennia.

The national monument designation would honor the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition Members’ deep cultural ties to the Grand Canyon and protect the area by making the temporary 20-year mining moratorium permanent, while also securing the cultural, natural, recreational, and scientific resources of the region. Twelve Tribal Nations who have called Grand Canyon their home since time immemorial, are unified in their bold efforts to continue the movement to permanently protect their traditional homelands under the Antiquities Act.

Through the prevention of further uranium mining development and improved management of waters and forests, the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument designation would have the capacity to increase climate resilience by safeguarding the waters of the Colorado River in the context of aridification, reducing wildfire severity, limiting groundwater loss and disruption associated with uranium mining activities, and protecting unique biodiversity including endangered California Condor and endemic and culturally important plants, from threats such as habitat loss and toxic pollution.

“Kahtoola stands firmly behind the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition and their steadfast dedication to preserve, protect and steward the lands in and around the Grand Canyon area. As a local business that values indigenous heritage and perspectives, we support the tribal led coalition’s proposal to create this monument for the protection of the landscapes, waterways, wildlife, cultural values, clean water and respectful outdoor recreation. We strongly encourage the Biden administration to acknowledge the critical work of the Tribes, who are the original inhabitants and stewards of these lands through the President’s authority to designate Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument,” said Danny Giovale, Founder/Owner, Kahtoola

“Wild Arizona offers deep thanks and our steadfast support to the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition for their monumental effort to safeguard the Grand Canyon and its rimlands, and acknowledges their many generations of stewardship and protection of the lands, waters and wildlife of this beloved region. The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument proposal shows the vision of regional Tribal leaders for the health and beauty of this living cultural landscape and its vital ecosystems, sacred Tribal lands and waters, and sustaining economic benefits, set against the devastating impacts of uranium mining. Wild Arizona urgently requests the Biden Administration to swiftly advance their historic proposal and ensure that the Grand Canyon’s cultural connections and natural legacy be preserved and healed to honor all generations: past, present and future” said Kelly Burke, Executive Director, Wild Arizona.

Today we stand together firmly as supporters of the 12 Tribal Nations and their proposed Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. In addition, we want to show our deepest and sincerest appreciation to all 12 Tribes for their courage, strength, and dedication as they continue the proud work of stewarding these lands, not just for themselves, but for all people and for generations to come.

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.

###

Wild Arizona is a statewide organization with nearly 3000 supporters/members working since 1979 to protect, unite, and restore wildlands and waters across Arizona and beyond. We pursue this mission for the enrichment and health of all generations and to ensure Arizona’s native plants and animals a lasting home in wild nature.

Kahtoola was founded on the idea that giving back is a responsibility we have as an outdoor business. And for over two decades, we’ve proudly invested in organizations that are making a real difference in the lives of others—organizations that inspire us and that share our core values around preserving Indigenous cultures, building outdoor community and protecting our environment.

• Download this press release as a PDF.

The post Wild Arizona and Kahtoola support Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition: Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument campaign appeared first on Wild Arizona.

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.

• Download this press release as a PDF.

The post ATA & Wild Arizona urge Senator McSally to protect Grand Canyon. appeared first on Wild Arizona.