The Biden administration touted the move’s support for tribal heritage and climate concerns, while Utah politicians called it overreach.
America’s newest national monument is in Arizona. But, as the Salt Lake Tribune reported, critics argue the Biden administration was out of line and out of touch to take that step without first consulting with the Utahns who will be impacted the most.
President Joe Biden visited the Historic Red Butte Airfield on Tuesday, a few miles south of the Grand Canyon. During his visit, he designated over 900,000 acres of federal forest and rangelands in northern Arizona as the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni — Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.
The monument is situated along the Arizona Strip. It aims to protect the Grand Canyon from more uranium mining, which Native Americans said would despoil many sacred ancestral sites, leach into aquifers and threaten water supplies.
President Barack Obama enacted a 20-year moratorium on new uranium claims in the area in 2012. Biden’s move makes the ban permanent.
Biden’s announcement drew swift condemnation from state and southern Utah officials, who characterized the new monument as yet another example of federal overreach and underhanded dealing.
"For more on the president's creation of a national monument near Utah, read this story at sltrib.com."
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.