Written by Dexter Kopas, Wild Stew Field Crew Leader.

Out in the field, Wild Arizona’s crews started just like any other hitch. We met up at our storage yard in Tucson, loaded the tools we needed into our trailers, and drove out to our two job sites, excited for a productive, fulfilling week. Chloe, Eric, Sam, Kile, Iman, and Max weren’t going far, targeting some improvements on a new loop of trail in Tucson’s backyard wilderness, the Pusch Ridge. Slightly further afield, Dexter, Sage, Foster, Charlotte, Viola, and Clay drove two hours to resume work on the popular Hackberry Spring Trail in the storied Superstition Wilderness. 

Up there in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness, the crew was working to improve sections of the Pontatoc Trail ahead of the scheduled opening of the new connector trail that will form a loop between Pontatoc and the neighboring Finger Rock Trail. The main focus was improving safety in areas where large rocks caused difficult and dangerous step-ups, as well as removing smaller rocks that presented as tripping hazards, creating drainage where possible, and light brushing maintenance. Over at Hackberry, our trail aficionados touched up some steps from the last hitch, built a ramp to smooth out a scrambling section of rocky trail, constructed seven check steps, stacked five cairns to guide hikers across drainages, and dug in a drainage ditch. 

Unfortunately, it was here on the third day of hitch that some developments outside the dusty world of fieldwork reached us. A memo had been released from the White House Office of Management and Budget directing a freeze on federal funding of all grants and agreements. This directly impacts us, since we are under agreement with the U.S. Forest Service (a federal government agency) for both of these projects, in addition to over 80% of the work we do. Even though this memo was later rescinded and the funding freeze temporarily blocked by a Federal judge, the overall confusion raised concerns as to whether we would be able to get paid for our work.

Because of that concern, we decided to temporarily pull off federally funded projects mid-way through the hitch and shifted both crews to a State of Arizona-funded project nearby. The hardworking, dedicated, and adaptable crew we are so proud of packed up and drove to a familiar campsite outside Superior, AZ, to continue riparian restoration projects that we have been working on for nearly nine years in Arnett Creek and the past year in adjacent Queen Creek. 

From Saturday until Wednesday, we removed seven large Canary Island Date Palm trees, countless Mexican palo verde shrubs, some small Tree of Heaven regrowth, and two Chinese pistache trees. We filled five large bags of trash and carried them out of the creek, along with four old car tires. In addition to disposing of undesirable things, we began the next phase of planting native willow and cottonwood trees, bringing habitat, food, and shade to the area (shade being important for lowering the temperature of the creek so it is a better habitat for fish and other aquatic wildlife). We continued our scientific monitoring of the diversity of invertebrates in the ecosystem, a key indicator of the success of our efforts to improve the health of this crucial aquatic ecoystem in the desert. Along the way, we were assisted by our volunteer coordinator, Nizhoni, who helped to involve four local volunteers with us on Sunday. 

Yes, despite some setbacks, we managed to stay productive and pay our crew members for their valuable contributions. However, Wild Arizona is certainly not out of the woods yet. While the federal funding freeze has continued to be blocked by two Federal judges as the cases work through the court system, uncertainty remains regarding receiving payment from our Forest Service partners. For the time being, we are continuing to focus on projects that are privately or state-funded. Being a smaller non-profit, we do not have the pool of our own funds to justify taking the chance working on Federal projects that could end up unable to compensate us for our work. 

As we are often reminded when hikers thank us over a hundred times a day out on the trail, the service we provide is enjoyed freely by a wide swath of the public. Though nobody ever got into conservation work ’cause they wanted to make the big bucks, the truth is we can’t do it without reliable funding. We would love to continue doing this professional work that we find so rewarding. If you would like to help us continue making that happen, here are some ways to get involved. 

• Become a monthly supporter — monthly gifts provide steady income and give us the nimbleness to respond to emerging threats and opportunities.
• Join us at our volunteer events — make a difference directly out in the field. Volunteer time is an essential part of our agreements for project work and is used as match towards the overall grant, allowing our staff to get paid for their work and providing additional value to our partners with even more work completed per project. By volunteering with us, you are directly funding other Wild Arizona projects.
• Sign up for upcoming action alerts via our Wild on Wednesday and ActWILD enews series.

To close, and leave you as fired up as I am, here is a piece written by our Conservation and Wildlife Associate, Nico Lorenzen:

When we talk green, we’re not talking money. We instead speak of our forests and how to keep them resolute in the face of ever-worsening fires. When our Wilderness Stewardship crew talks bucks, they’re speaking about the antlered, woodland denizens. When we are making that scratch, we’re digging tread. We’re scratching in new trail with our crew and volunteers to ensure that there are safe and sustainable paths through our public lands.

If you ask about having a nest egg or stocks, you’re liable to get a litany of birds we have spotted or suppositions on which species of native fish occupy the nearby creek. And when we say freeze, we will tell you of winter’s frigid hitches in which headlamp light and the crunch of icy sleeping bags greet the crew each morning. This type of freeze we handle through a warmth encountered in smashing pick mattocks into trail, doublejack hammers into rock, or with wily smiles to our saw partner as we crosscut through a fallen tree.

Our work has met a new freeze. One that skews any meteorology. When we take on jobs we do so in locations of conservation importance, as outlined by clear scientific principle. Yet this current funding freeze that neglects pre-agreed contracts and a federal judge’s explicit restraining order reeks of something far more mercurial. 

We at Wild Arizona do not care about the color of the ticket you run on; we care about our wild lands and those who live and recreate on them. Whether it be in the silted sands of our desert arroyos or the sea of green sky island conifers, we ask that the funding freeze is lifted in name and in fact. Because, we have work to do and the will and calloused hands to do it.

The post wild stew field crew: The Federal Funding Freeze Hitch appeared first on Wild Arizona.

The post environmental groups join tribes to protest Northern AZ uranium mine appeared first on Wild Arizona.

(Article reprinted from Inside Climate News)

PHOENIX—Members of environmental groups stood together in the lobby of the Arizona State Capitol Executive Tower late last month to deliver a petition to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, requesting that she stop uranium mining activities near the Grand Canyon National Park. The Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, National Parks Conservation Association, Wild Arizona, Chispa Arizona and Haul No!, a group formed to fight the mining and transport of uranium, delivered a petition with more than 17,500 signatures to the governor. They are seeking closure of the Pinyon Plain Mine, located less than 10 miles from the Grand Canyon. It is inside the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, which President Joe Biden established in August 2023. The removal of uranium ore from the mine started in late December. Although the designation prohibits new mining claims and development, it allows prior claims with valid existing rights like Pinyon Plain to continue their operations. Energy Fuels Resources owns the mine, which is approximately 17 acres, and operates it on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service. “This mine threatens to pollute the groundwater that feeds the seeps and springs in Grand Canyon, supporting plants, animals and people,” the petition states. People can develop respiratory disease and toxicity in the kidneys due to uranium exposure, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. There are more than 500 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation, and the tribe continues to confront the ramifications of mining activities on tribal members and the environment. This includes advocating for federal money to clean up abandoned mines and compensation for former mine workers. No one from Hobbs’ office met the group or accepted the written requests in person. Instead, the activists left the petition, the groups’ latest action attempting to get the Democratic governor’s attention, with the executive receptionist on the first floor. In January, the groups sent a letter to Hobbs urging her to revisit permits issued for Pinyon Plain Mine and seeking her help closing it. They said she has not responded to the letter. A spokesperson with the governor’s office confirmed on July 11 that the petition was received.

“Gov. Hobbs will always put the health and safety of everyday Arizonans first. Pinyon Plain is one of the most closely regulated mines in the country, with an extremely stringent permit,” Liliana Soto, press secretary for the governor, said in a statement. Energy Fuels Resources President and CEO Mark Chalmers said groups opposing the mine failed to prove their claims about the permitting process in court and are now conducting a “public disinformation campaign.” “The Pinyon Plain Mine has been studied extensively for more than 30 years, with input from federal and state agencies, regulatory bodies and tribal stakeholders resulting in the issuance of all required permits for the mine,” Chalmers said in a written statement. “Unfortunately, this smear campaign is designed to scare local and Indigenous communities by spreading misinformation and innuendo,” he said. “We are proud of the Pinyon Plain Mine and its role in reducing reliance on bad actors like Russia for the fuel that powers one of our best sources of carbon-free electricity.” Vania Guevara is the advocacy and political director with Chispa Arizona, a program under the League of Conservation Voters that is dedicated to increasing Latinx voices in policies that address climate change and the environment. Guevara said it is urgent for Hobbs to address uranium mining because it threatens the health and safety of Indigenous communities. A dozen tribes have ancestral, ceremonial and traditional connections to the region, including the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas 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. Chispa Arizona helped collect signatures as part of its support of protections for the Grand Canyon. Its work includes organizing camping trips to the canyon for Maricopa County residents. “Many of our community members don’t have the resources to camp or get up there,” Guevara said. “So, it’s something that we’re really passionate about, having access to public lands.” During the petition delivery, Guevara was among those who held banners inside the tower’s lobby stating, “Shut down Pinyon Plain Uranium Mine,” along with an illustration of a ram skull with a radiation symbol, or trefoil, on its forehead. “We support clean energy transition, but we never want it to be at the expense of the Earth, the environment or our Indigenous communities who are first and directly impacted,” she said.

Pinyon Plain Mine is situated above the Redwall-Muav Aquifer, the source of drinking water for the village of Supai on the Havasupai tribal land at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The aquifer also feeds springs in the canyon. The mine is at the foot of Red Butte, a prominent peak sacred to the Havasupai. “Those springs and streams are incredibly important to people and biodiversity, endangered species, the Havasupai Tribe, and neither industry nor regulators can ensure that uranium mining won’t permanently damage that water,” said Taylor McKinnon, the Center for Biological Diversity’s Southwest Director. “The safe thing to do, the prudent thing to do, is to avoid that risk altogether and close the mine. Permanently harming the Grand Canyon’s aquifers and seeps and springs is not a risk that’s worth taking,” he added. “We need the governor to act.” Although the mine is on federal public land, Carletta Tilousi, who is Havasupai, said Hobbs’ role as governor is significant in the effort to end Pinyon Plain because she oversees the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, which administers the state’s environmental laws, and appoints that agency’s director.

Additionally, the department shares regulatory responsibility for certain federal programs delegated by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to the Arizona Secretary of State. This regulatory responsibility includes issuing air and water quality permits for Pinyon Plain Mine. “ADEQ performs regular and thorough inspections of the mine, working closely with local and county partners, and stands ready to take appropriate action if violations are found,” Soto said in the statement from Hobbs’ office. “The state will also continually evaluate our procedures and safety requirements to ensure the mine is operating in a way that keeps our communities safe now and into the future.” The Havasupai Tribal Council stated in January that they remain opposed to uranium mining in and around their tribal lands and the Grand Canyon. “We feel that she needs to look deeper into what’s happening and what permits are being given to which companies,” Tilousi said. “These mining companies aren’t benefiting us at all. I don’t think they support anything in the state of Arizona. They just mine and leave.” Because of increased pricing for uranium and support for nuclear energy to help address climate change, Energy Fuels Resources began extracting uranium ore last year at Pinyon Plain and two mines in eastern Utah. The company is preparing two more mines for production in Colorado and Wyoming this year, it announced in a news release in December.

“The Pinyon Plain Mine is a small mine that will play a big role in providing domestically sourced uranium—the naturally occurring element that fuels safe, reliable and carbon-free nuclear energy,” Chalmers said. He added that nuclear accounts for approximately one-third of the electricity used by Arizona residents to power homes, schools, businesses and electric vehicles. Energy Fuels Resources plans to start hauling ore from the three operating mines to its White Mesa Mill near Blanding, Utah, where it will be stockpiled until processing begins in 2025. Transporting the ore is another issue for Tilousi, who is a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. “My concern is the safety of the people on that road,” she said. “What happens when there’s a spill or a wreck or an accident? Who’s going to clean it up?” Members of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe oppose the transportation plan because several members live in the White Mesa community, which is adjacent to the mill site, while leaders and members of the Navajo Nation oppose the route because it crosses the tribe’s land. Former tribal President Ben Shelly and the 22nd Navajo Nation Council enacted a law in 2012 that prohibits transporting uranium and other radioactive materials across the Navajo Nation unless it relates to the cleanup of past activities related to uranium mining and milling sites on the tribe’s land.

“What happens when there’s a spill or a wreck or an accident? Who’s going to clean it up?”

“The Navajo Nation has the right to exclude nonmembers and to condition their entry onto Navajo Nation lands and has the independent sovereign right and duty to protect the health, welfare and safety of the Navajo Nation and its citizens,” the tribal law states. Energy Fuels Resources is authorized to use two routes that travel on state and federal highways, including those on Navajo land, according to Kaibab National Forest’s website. The roads are under the authority of the Arizona Department of Transportation, and the agency is not bound to comply with the tribe’s law from 2012. In April, the Navajo Nation Council and tribal President Buu Nygren reiterated the tribe’s stance against uranium mining and associated activities. The resolution signed by Nygren includes a letter written by him and tribal council Speaker Crystalyne Curley to Biden that asks the president to use his executive authority to stop the planned transportation across the tribe’s land before it starts. “Furthermore, we implore you to publicly support a legislative solution that would reinforce the sovereignty of tribal nations, enabling us to enforce our laws and protect our people,” Nygren and Curley wrote in the letter. They also reminded Biden that Navajo leaders were “encouraged” by the establishment of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni national monument. “Our support for the monument reaffirmed our stance against the transportation of uranium across Navajo lands, which not only endangers our communities but also contradicts our sovereign rights to enforce our laws and protect our territory,” the tribal leaders wrote. In a news release on July 10, Nygren repeated the tribe’s position opposing trucks using roads on the Navajo Nation to deliver uranium to Utah.

The post tribes and environmentalists press Arizona and federal officials to stop uranium mining near the Grand Canyon. 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.

For more information contact: Kelly Burke, 928-606-7870, kelly@wildarizona.org
BLM needs to act quickly to implement the rule and protect healthy communities, wildlife, and cultural values

Photos for Media Use

April 18, 2024 (Phoenix) – After prioritizing extractive industries for the past 40 years, today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its final “Public Lands Rule” to balance and uphold its multiple-use mission. The Biden administration’s bold, comprehensive framework places cultural lands protection, conservation, access to nature, wildlife, and climate change mitigation on equal footing with industrial development across the West. Lawmakers, local officials, recreationists, conservationists, and Tribal nations throughout Arizona are celebrating this once-in-a-generation opportunity for local collaboration with the agency to address intensifying drought, wildfires, and other threats to public lands and waters.

“Arizona’s public lands are defining and iconic, home to culturally significant areas that have been home to Indigenous people since time immemorial,” said Sandy Bahr, the Grand Canyon Chapter Director of the Sierra Club. “They provide vital habitat that must be protected from the threat of mining and development. The Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule is overdue and urgently needed to restore and strengthen these treasured landscapes for the health of our communities, the deep connections from the numerous Tribes in Arizona and elsewhere, the plants and animals that are part of this amazing landscape, and the planet.”

The BLM oversees nearly 40 percent of U.S. public lands (245 million acres), including 12 million acres of vitally important deserts, woodlands, and critical watersheds that provide clean drinking water and fresh air, wildlife habitat, destinations for outdoor recreation, and hold innumerable cultural sites and areas valued by Indigenous communities in Arizona. Sadly, for decades only 12 percent of the lands managed by the BLM in Arizona have been protected for their outstanding conservation values. All of these lands – as well as the plants and animals that depend on them – are at risk from extreme weather events that are causing rapid changes in Arizona and across the West. The BLM’s new rule will help Arizonans adapt to these challenges by providing the agency and local communities with fiscally responsible management tools, such as applying land-health standards and strengthening existing conservation options. Co-stewardship and co-management with Tribal nations who have cared for these lands and waters since time immemorial are also crucial to the success of the rule.

“The Bureau of Land Management oversees more than 12 million acres of public land in Arizona, but half of these lands fail to meet rangeland health standards because they’ve been degraded by drought, wildfire, invasive species, and other impacts from climate change. The new public lands rule gives the agency the tools it needs to restore these degraded ecosystems so that the wildlife, outdoor recreation, hunting, fishing, and rural communities—that depend on healthy public lands—can thrive for generations to come,” added Scott Garlid, Executive Director, Arizona Wildlife Federation.

This new direction is widely popular. During the BLM’s 2023 public process, more than 90 percent of comments were in favor of elevating conservation for a more balanced approach to public land management. This support for more conservation is aligned  with Arizonans’ opinions. In a 2021 Gallup poll in partnership with the Center for the Future of Arizona, 92 percent of Arizonans said it was a priority to protect and preserve Arizona’s rivers, natural areas, and wildlife. Additionally the 2023 Colorado College State of the Rockies poll found 86 percent of Arizonans said they support a national goal of conserving 30 percent of America’s land and waters by 2030.  

Erica Prather from WildEarth Guardians, said “Protecting our public lands is one of the cornerstones of mitigating the climate crises and securing our watersheds. We’re excited to work with local BLM officials to implement the conservation measures that lie ahead with this new rule.” 

Conservation groups, local lawmakers, Tribal leaders, and the recreation community are urging the Biden administration to get to work on the ground implementing the agency’s new balanced management approach. Management plans for the sprawling Kingman and Safford Field Offices’ (covering 3.8 million acres of public land) have not been updated in 30 years. These outdated plans must be revised, and conservation must be a priority if the BLM is going to meet the challenges of the climate and biodiversity crises we are facing. The BLM has identified over 2 million acres of land across Arizona that should be administratively protected – places like Burro Creek, the Aquarius Mountains, and the Hassayampa River – that local communities cherish. Despite these areas being identified for conservation, the agency has failed to take any meaningful steps towards protecting them.

“This Public Lands Rule provides clear guidance to the Bureau of Land Management that conservation should receive the same level of attention as extractive uses,” said Mike Quigley, Arizona State Director, The Wilderness Society. “Arizonans treasure our public lands for recreation, connecting with family and friends, wildlife watching, and many other conservation-dependent activities; this Rule will provide mechanisms for Arizonans’ voices to be heard and acted upon in land use planning.” 

Not only is the new Public Lands Rule critical to Arizona’s environment it’s also vitally important for the state’s economy. Arizona’s $21 billion annual outdoor recreation economy is dependent upon access to protected wild landscapes, and the state’s iconic trails, wildlife areas, and rivers –  like the San Pedro River and the De Anza Trail – which are on lands managed by the BLM. The Public Lands Rule will provide communities and local BLM managers the tools they need to ensure the future of these economically important places.

“In Arizona, outdoor recreation contributes four times the economic benefit of mining, and over twenty times the benefit of ranching, and it’s about time the BLM truly embraced its multiple-uses mandate by prioritizing the resources that are vital to the Grand Canyon State,” said Arizona Trail Association executive director Matthew Nelson. “But even more important than the economic benefits of outdoor recreation are the improved quality of life that comes from time spent in these wild places. The conservation of our public lands is vital to our way of life, and necessary for our health, wellness, and future.”

Lisa M Lamberson, owner of Mountain Sports Flagstaff and Co-owner of Bright Side Bookshop in Arizona said, “The BLM’s Public Land Rule will ensure that the agency brings their management of public lands across Arizona and the West into balance. The rule puts conservation on equal footing with other uses, improving BLM planning and management. I’m thrilled that the BLM will manage for resilient ecosystems, which includes protecting intact landscapes and land health.” 

Arizona’s members of Congress have championed greater protections for BLM lands across the state. Rep. Raúl Grijalva joined nearly four dozen members of Congress voicing support for the rule in a letter to Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland. Local officials joined more than 120 past and present western elected officials calling for additional protection of lands managed by the BLM.     

Betsy Harter, Associate of Sustainability at Kahtoola, Inc. said, “Kahtoola stands in support of the BLM’s new Public Lands Rule. Putting conservation on equal footing with other land uses is not just the ethical thing to do, but it comes at a time where the stakes are high and our decisions on how we interact with the planet are extremely consequential. This balanced approach to decision-making is crucial for ensuring the long-term sustainability of our nation’s public lands for generations to come.”

Arizonans have been pushing for changes to BLM land management for years – hoping to encourage a more balanced approach that ensures conservation. In November of 2022, leading national conservation organizations active in Arizona signed on to a public call to support new BLM guidance on “habitat connectivity on public lands,” and in September of 2022, a coalition of Arizona conservation organizations wrote to the BLM State Director to support BLM’s authority to protect Arizona’s most valuable wildlands. Conservation advocates hope the new rule will ensure a more balanced approach to management.

“Today’s announcement will bring much needed balance to the BLM’s management of public lands across Arizona,” said Kelly Burke, Executive Director of Wild Arizona. “Local communities on the ground across our state have worked for years to shift the BLM’s management to focus more on conservation and protection of our water, wildlands, wildlife corridors, and cultural resources. After almost 50 years of inattention, the Biden Administration and BLM deserve a lot of credit for finally putting conservation, recreation and cultural resource protection on equal footing with other uses.”     

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